PL 2018/19: How Manchester City might line up this season

Defenders: Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy

Watford v Manchester City - Premier League

Right Back: Kyle Walker

Full-backs are very important in Pep Guardiola's set up and that is why he replaced all his fullbacks last season whilst spent almost 150 million euros in signing the replacements. One such replacement was Kyle Walker. The former Spurs man turned out to be an upgrade more than a replacement, something that is evident from the form that he has been in for Manchester City last season and England during the World Cup. Walker has excelled not only as a right back but as a professional footballer. He played as a center back in Russia and was a formidable option for Gareth Southgate.

His performance for the English National Team was applauded by most pundits and Walker thanked his current club coach Pep Guardiola for the improved positional play.

Danilo has been more than a backup for the Englishman. He is often placed at the left back by Pep whenever required and has played as a wing-back when there was a change of formation. He came to Manchester to play regular football and has been given ample of playing time, at least more than that he was given in Madrid. A feature of those appearances was Mendy’s and Delph’s injuries. Danilo is injured now and it will be interesting to how much playing time he will see this time around, once he is fit, given that Walker has started all the games at the right back position since the beginning of the new season.

John Stones will be a key member in the defence for Pep

Centre Backs: John Stones, Aymeric Laporte

John Stones was signed by Manchester City from Everton, for £50 million in August 2016, a record amount for a defender at that time. He was tipped to be one of the best centre backs in the World as soon as he signed for City under Pep Guardiola. To this date, he is still tipped to be one of the best CBs in the World, but this time he has shown signs of improvement in his playing style along with leadership qualities. His World Cup performances showed that he can perform under pressure and play the ball from the back. He has been pivotal for Pep as his philosophy settled into a Manchester City team that has broken records since his arrival. It has not only helped the team but has also made Stones a better player. Rumours of him moving away have been shot down by Guardiola himself.

Another young defender in Guardiola’s XI is Ayemric Laporte. Signed from Athletic Bilbao in the January transfer window, Laporte fit into Guardiola’s team instantly, passing the ball as if he has been under Pep since Pep started his managerial career.

Both Laporte and Stones will face a threat from experienced Kompany and Otamendi as is evident from the choice of team that Pep has shown in the first 7 games of the season.In the season opener against Arsenal, Pep went with Stones and Laporte in the middle of the defence. He has kept Laporte as a regular in the team, making him a first choice centre back in all 7 games of the season, but has rotated the other centre back, playing stones in 4 of these games and Otamendi in 2 of the latest Premier League games. Vincent Kompany has been part of 2 games but the club captain has been troubled by his regular injuries and the Argentine’s World Cup has been questionable. So for now, the youngsters are enjoying game time and are doing themselves a favor by playing well against the opposition. They are likely to play more than the older duo throughout the season.

Left Back: Benjamin Mendy

Benjamin Mendy has been a social media sensation for quite some time now. Apart from that, his performances for AS Monaco brought him to the attention of major European clubs and Manchester City, who were then looking to refresh their full back roster, grabbed the Frenchman for 52 million euros. After spending almost the entire last season out because of an injury and losing his National team place to Lucas Hernandez, Mendy has performed very well since the beginning of this season. He has recorded 3 assists in 3 games for the defending champions and looks fresh and roaring for the season ahead. Although the Frenchman started the first 3 games for the Champions but has been benched by Pep for the last 3 games, including the Champions League loss to Lyon, due to injury but when he is fit, he is surely gonna get hold of his spot in the starting XI.