'Triple-S' can end Man City's Liverpool hoodoo

Manchester City have lost four Premier League matches in a row to Liverpool, so ahead of their Etihad Stadium meeting on Sunday, Adrian Clarke assesses the form of Pep Guardiola’s side. 

City's Triple-S

Liverpool’s Suarez-Sturridge-Sterling triumvirate nearly took them to the Premier League title in 2013/14, but this season Man City’s own triple-S combination are catching the eye.

David Silva, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling were not in the same starting XI until mid-October, but together they have inspired eight victories and three draws in all competitions.

The 3-1 loss to Monaco in this week’s UEFA Champions League was the first time City have been beaten when all three have begun a contest.

Sane and Sterling help facilitate the type of football Guardiola prefers.

They are speedy wingers who hug the touchline and push on whenever team-mates have the ball in deep areas.

This makes the pitch feel far bigger, which is a huge help when opponents decide to press.

Opponents who are keen to close down a City side who take risks are wary of Sane and Sterling’s pace in behind, and any indecision affords Silva, Yaya Toure and Kevin De Bruyne the space they need to receive passes in midfield, before moving the ball forward.

Liverpool usually cause City problems with their ferocious closing-down, but if their chain breaks at any point on Sunday, Guardiola’s men will pass through them at will.

Below you can see how wide Sane and Sterling stayed against Swansea City, the last time they started together in the PL at home. Much of their involvement is reserved for deep inside the final third.

Sane and Sterling are by some distance the quickest City players.

Between them they have registered the side’s top speeds in each of the last six Premier League matches. When you consider Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are also fast, it is easy to understand why this City team is now so menacing on the break.

Since netting his first PL goal against Arsenal on 18 December, Sane has grown enormously in influence. Beating his man at will, creating and scoring goals, the 21-year-old summer signing is bang in form.

Sane's growing influence

Behind the two wide men, an on-song Silva is the glue that makes this trio click.

The Spaniard has given the most passes to Sane in five of the last six PL games they have started together, and he regularly matches that feat with Sterling on the other flank.

Whenever Silva receives possession his first instinct is to go wide.

Topping the 12km mark for distance covered in his last three appearances (the most of any City player) Silva’s mobility and creative eye are a potent combination.

Without him and Sterling from the outset at home to Stoke City in the last Premier League match, Sane and Co struggled to make the same impact in a goalless draw. 

Shrugging off the Everton blues

A chastening 4-0 defeat by Everton in mid-January provoked a positive reaction from the City players.

Since that match they have focused hard on leaving themselves less exposed.

Over the course of the last six PL matches, Guardiola’s men have kept other teams at arm’s length more effectively than anyone else in the top six.

Arsenal, for example, have faced three times as many shots on target during the same period.

Shots and goals against in last six PL matches

Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, has let in only one goal in five PL matches since displacing Claudio Bravo as first choice, and has received praise for his influence.

On closer inspection, across the last 450 minutes of action the Argentinian has been called upon to make a mere eight saves, and his only catches (four) and punches (one) came at AFC Bournemouth.

While City are very much a work in progress without the ball, over the last two months they have protected their goalkeeper wonderfully well.

Why? A combination of factors has brought about this improvement.

Statistically City have worked harder since the Everton defeat, raising their distance covered from an average of 114.3km per match to 116.6km. 

This additional graft has made them a tougher outfit to play against.

Selection continuity from Guardiola is another plus.

Sticking largely with a 4-3-3 shape, his players have looked more comfortable in their own roles of late.

In general City have dominated matches with greater authority, pinning their opponents back. This has eased the strain on a collection of defenders who have made numerous mistakes this term.

Liverpool are good enough to test the hosts’ back four on Sunday, but will encounter a home side better equipped to control matches in their own style.

Adaptable Aguero

When Aguero was dropped in early February for Jesus, there was speculation the extra physical demands City’s new head coach expects of his principle striker could have played a part in the decision.

While Jesus is a hardworking livewire striker who offers great energy at the point of their attack (he covered 10.88km v West Ham United and 11.04km v Swansea City) there is also evidence that Aguero has been willing to adapt. 

In terms of running the Argentinian has upped his athletic output quite dramatically in comparison to his time under Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini as the table below shows.

Aguero's running stats

It is more likely a mini-dip in form (one goal in Aguero’s previous four-and-a-half matches) coupled with Jesus’s own individual quality formed the reasoning behind that decision.

The 19-year-old Brazilian, now injured, scored three PL goals at a rate of one every 67.7 minutes, so it is hard to argue it was not the right call at that time.

Is Aguero’s extra legwork affecting his own goalscoring prowess?

Boasting a record of 12 goals in 16 Premier League starts, at first glance you would not say so, but those goals have arrived at a rate of one every 133.5 minutes, with a chance-conversion ratio of 19%.

Over the course of the previous two campaigns the Argentinian averaged a goal every 98.3 minutes with a 24.5% strike-rate. So there has been a downturn.

Not that Liverpool will take too much notice of that.

Aguero has scored in all four PL starts he has made at home to the Reds, and has delivered six goals in his last five starts in all competitions.

Playing for a developing City side who look increasingly more confident in their own skin, and with a point to prove to his manager, the 28-year-old forward remains the man most likely to help end Klopp’s unbeaten run this season against their top six rivals.

See: #MCILIV pre-match stats

View: Man City's fixtures