There are two formations that strike fear and dread into Manchester City fans if they appear on a teamsheet.
One is the double pivot, made infamous by botched experiments involving Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri, when Pep Guardiola wants to protect his City defence against a top side. The reasoning has merits, but an extra holding midfielder often disrupts the attacking rhythm and has backfired on too many occasions.
The second is the dreaded back three, with high-profile defeats often coinciding with a half-hearted attempt to change formation and bring another centre-back in. Now, though, thanks to the World Cup, Guardiola may finally have the tools to make that particular tactic work.
ALSO READ: Bernardo Silva backs Jack Grealish to be Man City great and reveals World Cup bets on England games
If, as expected, England revert to a back three on Saturday against France, then two City players can expect to be in that back line. John Stones has been faultless so far at the World Cup, while Kyle Walker has been earmarked as the only man in the world who can stop Kylian Mbappe.
Gareth Southgate often adds another defender to his formation against better sides, and Walker is often the man to move inside on the right of a back three - although maybe he could stay at right-back against France to stop Mbappe, with someone like Luke Shaw joining the centre-backs on the opposite side.
If City were to use the back three again, Walker would probably stay as the wing-back, given their riches of central defensive players. With five centre-backs, and Rodri deputising in defence for Spain over the last three weeks, Walker wouldn't be needed in the centre for Guardiola.
Instead, there would be Stones, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte, who have been mainstays in defence in recent seasons and have all had good World Cups as part of back fours. They are talented enough to play together in a three, though, and both Stones and Laporte have deputised at full-back for City, so are better equipped to flank Dias if needed.
Then there is Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji - City's in-form duo who ended the first portion of the domestic season as Guardiola's preferred pairing. Of City's centre-backs, Ake and Akanji are probably the two most familiar with playing in a back three, with Ake excelling so far in that role for the Netherlands at the World Cup and Akanji lining up on the right of a three for Switzerland. Again, both can also play full-back, adding to their versatility.
Gone are the days of Laporte, Fernandinho and Eric Garcia starting at the back against Lyon in 2020, with Rodri and Gundogan sitting just in front. The much-quoted statistics of City defenders leading the way for ball carries out of defence at the World Cup, breaking the lines to initiate attacks, could also lend itself to a more balanced back five, as well as illustrating the step-up in quality City now possess among their centre-backs.
With Walker and Joao Cancelo fine wing-back options, and five capable central players all fighting for the two usual spots, Guardiola may finally have the personnel to reintroduce a back three if that is a tactic he feels can give City an advantage during their incredibly difficult fixture list at the start of 2023.
READ NEXT:
