The 26th game week of the 2020-21 Premier League season saw runaway leaders Manchester City host 4th place West Ham. Both the teams are on the back of impressive displays in their previous encounters. David Moyes especially would be content to see his team put in some impressive shift every week.
Manchester City, meanwhile have been empathic on the back of a tremendous 19 game-winning run across all the competitions. While the teams around them have dropped points over the past 2 months, they have remained clinical and impeccable in various games. This tactical analysis will discuss the tactics deployed by both managers. Let’s begin the analysis.
Lineups
After their clinical performance in the Champions League against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Pep decided to make some alterations to his team keeping in mind the double game week. Sterling, Cancelo, Rodri, Foden and Jesus made a way out for Torres, Mahrez, Fernandinho, Kevin de Bruyne and returning Sergio Aguero respectively.
West Ham meanwhile made a single change to the lineup that won the London derby last week. Ben Johnson came into the lineup for Jarrod Bowen as Moyes looked to change his shape into an asymmetric structure.
City struggle to break through West Ham’s press
David Moyes went with a 5-4-1 defensive setup, his preferred one this season. It looked to tighten things at the back with an additional body of protection offered. The main strategy was to lock the interiors by squeezing the space and forcing the City players outward to the flanks. The 3 forwards along with the 2 central midfielders formed a good central block with optimal body postures that City found unpleasant. Also, the space between the lines was very less with West Ham opting for a comparatively higher line for a mid-block. The image shows an example of that and City has to go outward with no available space in the centre.
