Pep Guardiola has explained his thinking behind a curious Manchester City starting line-up vs Brentford, which saw John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias all playing.
Regular right-back Kyle Walker was dropped to the bench, with the versatile Joao Cancelo starting as the only recognised full-back in the City team to face Brentford. Guardiola had warned against the Bees' set piece threats before the game, and used Nathan Ake at left-back in the reverse fixture in London in December.
That appears to have influenced his thinking on Wednesday at the Etihad, with three commanding centre-backs picked, along with the returning Rodri, for the home clash with Thomas Frank's men.
