Why Fernando Return Will Bolster Manchester City Premier League Title Defence

Manchester City look set to welcome back Fernando for their match with Aston Villa on Saturday. Manuel Pellegrini confirmed the Brazilian, who has been missing since injuring his groin against Stoke a few weeks ago, has made a full recovery and is in contention to play at Villa Park.

His first three appearances for City could hardly have gone any better. He was the star of the show against Newcastle in City’s 2-0 opening-weekend win at St James’ Park, before impressing again in the 3-1 win over Liverpool in the following match.

He looked on course for another man-of-the-match performance against Stoke before being withdrawn before half-time, and his absence since then has been a big loss to City, whose early fixtures have been tough.

Fernando was bought, first and foremost, because he is an excellent player, but the flexibility he gives Manuel Pellegrini will also have been uppermost in the Chilean’s mind when he sanctioned the move.

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He allows for a three-man midfield alongside Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, an axis which would offer more protection than City usually have on display. Having been outpassed and outfought in midfield a couple of times last season—particularly in the Champions League—Fernando was seen by many as the catalyst for more solidity and tactical flexibility.

Four games in quick succession have gone by since his injury that would have been perfect for Pellegrini to try the three-man midfield with Fernando at its defensive base.

Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Roma are all sides capable of dominating possession in midfield, and Fernando, who is gifted at recovering the ball with his combination of energy and tackling ability, is City’s best answer for that kind of strategy.

Miralem Pjanic was the fortunate one on Tuesday as City’s two-man midfield left the Bosnian with plenty of time and space to dictate play.

He looked way too comfortable, constantly able to lift his head and pick a pass without fear of being pressurised by a City midfielder. It saw City struggle to ever really get a foothold in the match, with Roma given far too much time and space to operate.

With an international break set to follow City’s game with Villa, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Fernando started on Saturday. Speaking at his press conference on Friday at Carrington, the City boss said: “We have just one player injured, Samir Nasri. All the others are fit. Both of [Matija Nastasic and Fernando] are fit.”

It’s a huge boost for City to have arguably their most important summer signing back to full fitness.

The Blues go into the match five points adrift of Chelsea already, a situation which Pellegrini sees as far from ideal, but he feels it’s too early in the season to draw too many conclusions.

“We are just starting. It is not good to be five points behind Chelsea,” he said. “In this moment we have one point more than last year, Arsenal was maybe six points ahead of us.

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"We didn’t win the first three games away. Today, we have seven points from nine away. It is not good to be five points behind.

"But things can happen, important things, and we will try to continue playing the way we did against Hull.”

Indeed, City know all about overhauling sides. Last season they spent just 15 days at the top of the table but eventually won the title, replacing Liverpool as leaders during the final few days of the campaign.

There is no cause for panic, but City are aware that Chelsea look far stronger than they did last season. If they establish a sizable lead, it will be very difficult to catch them.

City’s away form, though, which was heavily criticised during the first half of Pellegrini’s debut season in charge, is outstanding, having lost just once in their last 15 games on the road. They'll need to continue that record on Saturday if they want to stay in touch with the early pace-setters.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.