Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive this season.
Erling Haaland & Kevin De Bruyne (MCI)
De Bruyne has already set up Haaland for two Premier League strikes and assisted the Norwegian’s opener against Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
Double figures 🙌@ErlingHaaland 1️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/pD4E2f2sfb
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 3, 2022
The duo’s chemistry is a frightening prospect for anyone, so every Premier League manager must come up with a plan that negates their impact.
KDB's Expected Goals (xG) Assists 22/23
| Player assisted by KDB | xG Assisted |
|---|---|
| Erling Haaland | 1.3 |
| Phil Foden | 0.4 |
| Ilkay Gundogan | 0.2 |
| Ruben Dias | 0.2 |
Haaland’s arrival has led to City making adaptations to their style of play.
One noticeable feature is how keen De Bruyne has been able to deliver crosses from the right.
Supported by Kyle Walker, who has spent a lot of time filling in for him in central midfield, the Belgian has overlapped down that flank to tremendous effect.
Creating overloads with Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne has whipped 32 crosses into the area, a tally that is second only to the 38 of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
It is also more than a third of the 95 he supplied in the whole of 2021/22, when he ranked 11th for open-play crosses.
This City ploy makes perfect sense. De Bruyne’s technical quality and Haaland’s perceptive movement inside the area are a potent combination.
De Bruyne's creativity 2022/23
| Total | PL rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Assists | 4 | 1st |
| Chances created | 21 | 2nd |
| Open-play crosses | 32 | 2nd |
| Passes played into box | 70 | 3rd |
Free from injury, it has been a seriously impressive start to the campaign for De Bruyne.
He leads the way with four assists and is second to Mohamed Salah for the number of chances created.