Predicting Manuel Pellegrini's Opening Manchester City Premier League XI
Despite a run of eight defeats in 15 matches during the second half of last season, Manuel Pellegrini will lead Manchester City into the final year of his three-year contract.
The City manager was under huge pressure as the last campaign drew to a close, but a run of six straight wins saw them finish the season strongly and head into the summer with renewed optimism.
The club regressed in every competition and improvements are expected this season. Raheem Sterling has joined from Liverpool, becoming the club’s record signing in the process, and Fabian Delph, a 25-year-old England international, has also been added to the ranks.
Their summer spend is unlikely to end there. More new arrivals are expected before the transfer window closes on September 1. City have tended to do their business swiftly and effortlessly under Pellegrini, but perhaps the quality of player they are chasing this summer means patience is needed to complete more complicated deals.
City get their 2015/16 season underway with a game away at West Bromwich Albion. But who will start at the Hawthorns?
Pellegrini has experimented with a 4-3-3 formation during the club’s tour of Australia this summer, but given a number of his first-team players will be unavailable for the opening game after their Copa America involvement, perhaps a more familiar formation will be used to ease City into the new campaign.
Their six straight wins at the back end of last season came using a 4-2-3-1 system, and that is likely to remain an option throughout the coming months. So let’s say Pellegrini opts for that on the opening day, who is likely to start on August 10?
Here’s a possible XI for City’s first game of the new season.
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
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One of Pellegrini's most straightforward choices is in goal. Joe Hart's superb form throughout much of last season has banished any fears over his ability to lead a side with the ambitions City have, and he will be the clear No. 1 again this year.
After a turbulent 2013/14, where he was dropped for six weeks in a bid to see him refocus, Hart has excelled, once again displaying the confidence that saw him rise to prominence six years ago.
His performance away at Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League was remarkable—his best night for the club—and his one-handed stop away at Swansea City from Federico Fernandez in May was the save of the season.
He will be looking to build on the improvements he's made over the past 12 months and underline his talent with another impressive season.
Right-Back: Bacary Sagna
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With Pablo Zabaleta likely to be given extra time to recover from his Copa America exertions, it leaves the door open for Bacary Sagna to play against West Brom.
City's back-up right-back was given only fleeting appearances last season. He played just nine times in the Premier League during 2014/15 and, given the paucity of his playing time, he did well.
He lacks Zabaleta's attacking prowess, but defensively he is a sound option. A proven Premier League performer after seven seasons with Arsenal, City will have no concerns selecting the Frenchman for this game.
Centre-Back: Vincent Kompany
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The form of Vincent Kompany during 2014/15 was arguably City's biggest concern. A player who had, for so long, been a beacon of consistency suddenly became a liability. He was rightly dropped as the season drew to a close.
He became overeager to impress during his poor run of form and began making poor decisions. He was drawn out of position too easily, leaving holes in behind, and was continually making rash challenges.
There are few better professionals, though. He has spent the summer preparing himself physically for the new campaign. He relies on being 100 per cent fit, something he hasn't been for a while, and he returned to City's training ground early this summer in a bid to ready himself for the rigours of the new season.
He will start at West Brom, and he needs a positive opening few weeks to banish the memory of his most recent displays.
Centre-Back: Eliaquim Mangala
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There are many who feel a title challenge starts at the back, that to be champions you need a solid defensive line to build on.
City, at times last season, looked shaky in defence. Eliaquim Mangala failed to settle quickly enough and spent much of the season beset by nervousness. However, a good run of form toward the end of the campaign during his only unbroken sequence of starts will stand him in better stead this time out.
He needs to improve and show he can play at a high level on a consistent basis. He has everything needed: pace, power, aerial dominance and ball-playing ability.
With Jason Denayer waiting in the wings and impressing everyone at the club, Mangala, like Kompany, needs a fast start to the season cement his place.
Left-Back: Gael Clichy
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City are arguably most vulnerable at left-back, where both their options have holes in their game.
Aleksandar Kolarov and Gael Clichy will once again battle it out for supremacy, unless City can sign a new option before the window shuts. There's been little speculation linking them to left-backs, and it would be a surprise if that happened.
Of the two, Clichy, at his best, remains the superior player. He's quicker and therefore fits Pellegrini's style of play more comfortably, and he is sharper defensively.
It's an area in need of improvement, but Clichy is likely to get the nod at the Hawthorns.
Midfield: Fernando
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Fernandinho's likely to be rested for the game at West Brom, meaning Fernando, another player who spent much of last season under fire, will start as City's most defensive-minded midfielder.
His debut year at City has been a difficult one. He's struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League after his switch from Porto, seemingly lacking the pace and quality needed to excel.
With a year of experience under his belt, Pellegrini will be expecting more from a player the club had high hopes for when they signed him.
Midfield: Yaya Toure
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At 32, many believe Yaya Toure's best days are behind him. Indeed, 2014/15 saw him regress, managing half the number of goals he scored the previous season with his overall influence clearly reduced.
A summer of rest will have done him the world of good, though. After such an exhausting season during City's league-and-cup winning 2013/14, he then played at the World Cup in Brazil last summer and took part in the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
He has looked understandably fatigued, but there's no doubting his quality. Toure has a unique mixture of attributes that makes him one of the finest midfielders of his generation.
Attacking Midfield: Jesus Navas
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Criticism of Jesus Navas is often unfair. He's seen as profligate from wide areas, yet he assists more goals than any other player in the City squad, as well as bringing pace to a side largely bereft of it in attacking areas.
He's one of Pellegrini's most trusted players. His playing time this season is likely to reduce given City's new and expected signings, but the diligence with which he carries out his defensive work means he is a player valued highly by the City manager.
Attacking Midfield: David Silva
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The biggest plus of the 4-2-3-1 formation is it allows David Silva to operate in his best position.
Silva remains City's most creative player, a fact underlined last season and again in pre-season. No one in blue can match his ability to create chances.
When he starts on the left of a four-man midfield, he is always a threat, but his influence is somewhat stifled. A central role just in behind a main striker suits his game far better.
Attacking Midfield: Raheem Sterling
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Sterling's price tag, which could rise to a high of £49 million depending on City's success over the next few seasons, raised a few eyebrows, but given his age, homegrown status and potential, it could yet prove to be a bargain.
Much like when Wayne Rooney rose to prominence at Everton and Manchester United decided they had to have such a promising young player, City probably felt they had to do a deal to sign him. He looks nailed on to be England's most prominent attacking player in the coming years, and City wanted him to develop under their watchful eye.
He looks better starting in a position on the left, cutting inside and doing damage with his searing pace. He's a potential game-changing signing.
Striker: Wilfried Bony
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Wilfried Bony arrived in the January transfer window, but his AFCON involvement and a series of niggling injuries hindered his progress. The late-season switch to 4-2-3-1 further damaged his first-team chances, with Sergio Aguero quite rightly seen as City's first-choice striker.
With Aguero given additional rest time after this summer's Copa America, he could well be rested for the opening day, just as he was last season after returning from the World Cup.
It gives Bony a wonderful opportunity to show that, when free from injury, he can be force in a side pushing for major honours.
There are question marks over his ability to make the jump from mid-table Premier League side to title challengers. He needs to answer them quickly.
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