Top gun in the absence of "Kun": City players who could step up in Aguero's absence

13 goals, eight assists and 117 points. Wondering what the last piece of statistic means? Yes, it refers to the number of points Sergio Aguero has racked up this season in the Fantasy Premier League, all within a span of 16 games. In all competitions this season, Aguero has scored 19 goals in 20 appearances.

Sergio Aguero – A talismanic figure for Manchester City

No wonder there was a collective gasp among not only the Manchester City fans, but also the 23.5% of Fantasy Football users who have included Aguero as a part of their lineup, when City manager Manuel Pellegrini announced that the Argentinean would miss anywhere between 1-2 months with a calf injury suffered over the weekend.

Aguero, who opened the floodgates for City with a fine volley in City’s 6-3 battering of Arsenal at the Etihad this weekend, suffered a calf injury during the second half of the match. Initial prognosis of the injury has revealed that Aguero could spend a minimum of eight weeks on the sidelines, which casts doubt over his availability for the Champions League tie against Barcelona in February.

Just when it seemed as if Pellegrini’s men were resurrecting their Premier League campaign with a string of solid performances, Aguero’s injury comes as a major blow for City, who nurture ambitions of capturing plenty of silverware with them being involved in the FA Cup as well as the Capital One Cup.

Aguero’s injury has come at a bad time for City

As Christmas approaches, Aguero’s injury comes at an inopportune time for the Citizens, who have already been beset with injuries throughout the season, with Vincent Kompany having just returned after a long lay-off.

In the absence of Aguero, it remains to be seen whether Pellegrini sticks to the two-man attacking tandem and the current 4-4-2 formation or instead chooses to change the formation and go for a lone striker up front in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

With December and January being make-or-break months for City’s silverware aspirations, here is a look at who could (and should) step up in the absence of Aguero.

The usual suspects – Strikers

Can Negredo and Dzeko ensure that Aguero’s presence will not be missed?

City boast of vast reserves in the striker department with the likes of Alvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic on their roster. But these names pale in comparison with the diminutive Argentinian, who has harassed defences this season with his sharp movement and aerial superiority.

If Pellegrini chooses to stick to the 4-4-2, then he has two ways of going about it. The first would be by utilizing the services of Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko. Dzeko, who scored 14 goals apiece in City’s last two Premier League campaigns, captured a brace in City’s 3-1 win at Leicester City on Tuesday, a win that took them through to the last four of the FA Cup. Pellegrini will be hoping that Dzeko’s presence would ensure that City continue their goal-scoring juggernaut; they have scored a whopping 75 goals already this season.

Dzeko, who has seen his minutes slashed due to the arrival of Negredo from Spanish side Sevilla this summer, will be hoping to stake a claim for a permanent spot in City’s starting XI. Pellegrini would be more than happy to oblige, provided Dzeko is able to re-create his form of old – the form that brought him 19 goals in 42 appearances during the 2011-12 campaign when City captured the title.

Pellegrini’s alternative strategy could be to bring in Stevan Jovetic into the lineup as a second striker in a 4-4-1-1 formation, a slight variation of the 4-4-2. The Chilean received a shot in the arm when Jovetic returned to full training this week, with only an illness keeping him out of the lineup against Leicester City. Jovetic primarily operates as a second striker and possesses more creative flair than Dzeko and can thus be an able ally to the burly Negredo with his slick passing and clever movement at the forefront of City’s attack.

The surrogates – Midfielders and defenders

Yaya Toure and Fernandinho will have to step up, along with Negredo

If Pellegrini chooses to tinker with the formation and decides to play with a solitary striker, he would have to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri operating on the wings and David Silva playing just behind the striker. This formation paid dividends in the aftermath of the injury to Aguero during the clash with Arsenal as City went on to score another four goals. David Silva stabbed in from close range, Fernandinho bagged a brace with two sumptuous goals and Yaya Toure rounded it off from the penalty spot as City proved to be too hot to handle for the Gunners. Pellegrini would have been surely encouraged by the cohesiveness exhibited then, and the assuredness during possession.

Against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, Pellegrini did go in with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Javi Garcia and Jack Rodwell playing the role of defensive midfielders. James Milner and Jesus Navas played on the flanks with Edin Dzeko as the striker. The move paid off as City scored three goals, with two coming from the boots of Dzeko and the third one from an Aleksandar Kolarov free-kick.

In the absence of Aguero, City’s midfield will have to accept a chunk of the scoring responsibility and step it up a notch, as some crucial junctures lie ahead for the club, including a clash with Chelsea right before their Champions League encounter with FC Barcelona.

Yaya Toure has been in amongst the goals, having scored eight and set up three more in the Premier League. Fernandinho opened his account for City with two sumptuous goals against Arsenal and Pellegrini will be hoping for more from the Brazilian. Samir Nasri has doubled his goal-scoring tally from last season already with four, along with five assists. David Silva has been his usual self at the heart of City’s midfield, orchestrating passes and finding the net with ease. Silva’s tally of four goals and three assists in the Premier League is remarkable for a guy having hit the turf only eight times this season.

Despite City’s defenders not having scored many goals, they have found other ways to facilitate City’s attacking forays. Pablo Zabaleta has five assists to his name and Aleksandar Kolarov has four, essentially implying that they have contributed to nine of City’s goals in this Premier League campaign.

Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping that City don’t miss Aguero

Though it would be too much to ask for City’s defenders to add to their team’s goal-scoring tally, the burden on their strikers would be eased if City do not leak too many goals at the back, especially with City’s abysmal away record this season. This, combined with the odd goal arising from the heads of Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis, would definitely help the cause of the Citizens’ quest for multiple silverware.

If City are to continue their title march and brush away the absence of Aguero, the onus would be on the entire team to step up and raise their game to a higher level consistently. That last bit – consistency – has eluded City this season, but now is as good a time as any for them to correct that.