Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 23.
Player analysis: Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland (Man City)
Claiming six victories in a row in all competitions since Christmas, and with a near full-strength squad to choose from, Manchester City look in fine fettle ahead of Monday night’s encounter at Brentford.
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The prospect of seeing De Bruyne and Haaland in the same starting XI for the first time since August also is something to savour.
Pep Guardiola will surely be tempted by the prospect of including both fit-again stars as he seeks to gain revenge for the two league defeats his side suffered last season at the hands of Brentford.
Stars reunited
De Bruyne made only his second start of 2023/24 in midweek at home to Burnley, having been substituted off just 23 minutes into the new season against the same opponents on Matchweek 1.
Haaland, who has 14 Premier League goals this season, has not started a league match since early December, but came on for the last 19 minutes of that 3-1 win over Burnley on Wednesday.
During the last 12 months, City’s stellar duo have started together on only 10 occasions in the league, winning eight of those matches and drawing two.
Haaland scored eight times across those matches, relishing the service he received from the Belgian.
Haaland and De Bruyne record when starting together
| Statistic | Total |
| Matches | 10 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 8 |
| Draws | 2 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Haaland goals | 8 |
| De Bruyne goals | 3 |
It is fantastic news for City that De Bruyne and Haaland are available at the same time and could spell trouble for their upcoming opponents.
John Stones is also fully fit after an injury-plagued start to the campaign, so if he starts alongside them, it will only be the fifth time in a calendar year, the trio have all been named in the same Premier League line-up.
A reunion for these three players would give the champions a massive lift on Monday given how integral they were in City's Treble success in 2022/23.
Plenty of options
On the opening weekend of the season, Guardiola started De Bruyne in central midfield alongside Rodri, with Julian Alvarez used as a No 10 behind Haaland.
Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were in the wide positions that day but, with Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku also in contention, Guardiola is suddenly overflowing with tactical options.
De Bruyne should play centrally at Brentford, and it could be as one of two No 10s alongside Alvarez in a 4-1-4-1.
Following his quick-fire brace in midweek it will be hard to leave out Alvarez.
Set-piece influence
De Bruyne’s return has already inspired two important set-piece goals for Man City.
It was from his inswinging corner that Nathan Ake scored the winner against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
And last time out he played an inch-perfect pass into the area for Alvarez to convert, from a smartly disguised training ground routine to go third in the all-time Premier League assists charts.
It was a reminder of De Bruyne’s extraordinary technical quality and intelligence as he saw where the space was and then executed a precise through-pass.
This just had to be the Move of the Match! 🔗
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 1, 2024
🤝 @Sure pic.twitter.com/zJT7zXGHEN
His set-piece deliveries have potential to cause Brentford major headaches, especially if they also have to deal with the aerial power of Haaland.
The Norwegian was relatively quiet on his comeback appearance on Wednesday, but he did almost score from a far-post header.
Making a fabulous, angled run towards the far post, Matheus Nunes floated a gorgeous cross onto Haaland’s head.
It was only a brilliant block from Dara O’Shea at the far post that denied Haaland a comeback goal.
Brentford, who have looked fragile defensively in recent weeks, conceding 14 goals in their last five outings, must show major improvements in order to keep City at bay.
Brentford's last five league matches
The return of De Bruyne and Haaland has undoubtedly made their task of claiming three straight wins against City infinitely tougher.
