Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 12.
Team analysis: Manchester City
Scoring goals is not a problem usually associated with Man City and, having netted 22 times in 11 Premier League matches this season, it feels unfair to suggest they have an issue heading into Matchweek 12.
Yet in a sense, they do.
Not in terms of raw numbers of course, as upcoming opponents Tottenham Hotspur are the only team to find the back of the net more often than the champions so far this season.
It is more a case of where those goals have been coming from for City - what they have lacked in the absence of chief playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who has started only four matches this season, and how the Belgian can help after returning to training.
Too reliant on Haaland?
With Erling Haaland scoring 12 of their 22 goals, none of the other 19 Premier League sides depend on one striker as much as Pep Guardiola’s team.
The Norwegian striker has been responsible for 55 per cent of their goals, just ahead of Chris Wood, with 53 per cent, and Liam Delap on 50 per cent.
Given the quality in Man City’s squad, that figure for Haaland should not be as high.
Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Savinho and Jack Grealish are all yet to score in the league this season.
Their own injury issues have disrupted their flow to a degree, but this talented group have featured for a combined 2,800 minutes without finding the back of the net once in the competition.
The table below highlighting the most shots on target from City's players this season does not make for good reading.
Haaland has had more than four-and-a-half times as many efforts on target than his closest team-mate, and that player is left-back Josko Gvardiol.
While the departure of Julian Alvarez, who scored 11 goals last season and the absence of Rodri - with eight goals in 2023/24 - was always likely to affect their goal output, the contributions from players other than Haaland is below par.
Most Man City shots on target 24/25
| Shots on target | Mins/shot on target | |
| Erling Haaland | 32 | 30.9 |
|---|---|---|
| Josko Gvardiol | 7 | 134.7 |
| Bernardo Silva | 6 | 139.0 |
| Mateo Kovacic | 5 | 176.0 |
| Savinho | 5 | 105.8 |
Failure to finish
Man City are still dominating most opponents, racking up the most shots and Expected Goals so far in 2024/25.
In fact, Foden, Bernardo and Matheus Nunes are all creating more big chances per 90 minutes than they did last season.
Frustratingly for them, it has been their shooting which has let them down.
Their overall chance conversation rate, and success rate for big chances, is way lower than it has been across the previous three campaigns.
Man City's conversion rate and PL rank
| Season | Conversion rate % | Big chance conversion rate % |
| 2021/22 | 13.88 (3rd) | 46.72 (5th) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.67 (1st) | 46.97 (5th) |
| 2023/24 | 13.85 (5th) | 41.13 (8th) |
| 2024/25 | 10.38 (11th) | 37.5 (8th) |
Foden's frustrations
Foden is yet to find the back of the net in eight Premier League appearances.
He notched 19 en route to last season’s title, so it is vital for Guardiola that the England international begins to catch fire quickly.
Foden has had 15 attempts, six of which were blocked, but of the remaining nine just one tested the goalkeeper.
When you study his shot locations it is clear that too many are being taken from distance.
Against Spurs, who he scored against in this corresponding fixture last season, Foden must push himself to get into better goalscoring positions.
Foden’s frustrations in front of goal are something he has rarely experienced since coming through the club’s academy.
The midfielder has been consistently accurate with his shooting, so much so that in 2023/24 no player who scored at least 10 Premier League goals could match his 75 per cent shot accuracy stats.
This time around, only 11.1 per cent of his attempts have hit the target.
It is not just Foden who is suffering inside the final third.
Bernardo has had the joint-most shots without scoring in the league, while winger Savinho has accumulated the highest xG of any player without a goal so far, with 1.7.
In a table that will leave Guardiola frustrated, three Man City players feature in the list of players who have had the most shots without scoring in the Premier League this season.
Most shots without scoring
| Player | Shots |
| Bernardo Silva (MCI) | 17 |
| Eddie Nketiah (CRY) | 17 |
| Kenny Tete (FUL) | 16 |
| Phil Foden (MCI) | 15 |
| Savinho (MCI) | 15 |
| Elliot Anderson (NOT) | 15 |
Portugal international Bernardo has not missed a string of simple chances, but all his efforts have been from inside the box.
Like Foden, and many of his team-mates, his shooting has simply been too tame, or wayward in direction.
How Haaland’s numbers compare with previous seasons
With De Bruyne and Rodri missing so much football this season, City’s midfield has certainly been weakened.
This may have played a part in a slight downturn in big chances being created for Haaland.
However, his excellent goal output of 1.09 per 90 minutes sits right in between his record-breaking 2022/23 campaign and his exploits from last season.
Haaland's output last three seasons
| 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | |
| Goals/90 | 1.17 | 0.95 | 1.09 |
| Shots/90 | 3.99 | 4.26 | 5.01 |
| Big chance/90 | 1.91 | 1.94 | 1.73 |
| Big chance conv. % | 52.54 | 38.18 | 47.37 |
What stands out from the data is how many extra shots Haaland is having, rising from 3.99 per match two seasons ago to 5.01.
Does this indicate that his City colleagues are losing confidence in themselves to apply the right finish and are choosing to pass to their main goal-getter instead?
If so, that could be problematic moving forwards - especially if Haaland misses matches.
This weekend, and in the weeks to come, it is critically important for City’s supporting cast to regain their form in front of goal. Once that happens, it could spell trouble for their title rivals.
De Bruyne could provide the solution
If, as expected, De Bruyne returns to the starting XI against Spurs, he could easily be the catalyst for improvement.
The 33-year-old is capable of producing angles, through-balls and crosses that other players cannot replicate, so he tends to carve out clearer opportunities than his team-mates. That quality of service can help to revive the goalscoring prospects of Foden and co, not just Haaland.
Since the start of last season, no City player comes close to creating more big chances than De Bruyne.
This is despite him featuring for only 1,602 minutes, which is just a 36 per cent share of the total available minutes since the outset of 2023/24.
De Bruyne's chemistry with Haaland is outstanding, so his comeback is great news for the striker and Man City.
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