Two ways Manchester City can accommodate Julian Alvarez in the starting eleven vs. Real Madrid
Manchester City are approaching the business end of the 2022-23 season with the hopes of a treble still intact. They will take on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semifinals, the first leg of which will be played on Tuesday, May 9.
In the Premier League, City are four points clear of second-placed Arsenal and are the favorites to win their fifth league title in six seasons. However, the Cityzens have never won the Champions League in their history and will be desperate to finally get their hands on the elusive trophy.
One conundrum Pep Guardiola might face is whether to include Julian Alvarez in the starting eleven against Real Madrid. Despite mainly featuring as a substitute this season, the 23-year-old Argentine has recorded 15 goals and five assists. His presence in the team always seems to add an impetus to Manchester City's attack.
Alvarez played and scored in City's 3-0 win over West Ham United last week in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, who is expected to start against Los Blancos. Alvarez started for City in their 2-1 win over Leeds United on Saturday as well, but John Stones and Rodri had been left out of the line-up. The two defensive players are expected to return to nullify the threat posed by Real Madrid's attack.
However, there still are a couple of ways Manchester City can include Alvarez in the starting line-up for the first leg of their Champions League semifinal:
#1. Manchester City could drop both Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva:
One way to accommodate Alvarez in the starting eleven is to drop both Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan to the bench. Manchester City have been playing with a 3-2-4-1 formation recently, which means that Alvarez and De Bruyne can start as the two central attacking midfielders.
Jack Grealish is quite un-droppable on the left flank at the moment, and Riyad Mahrez has been playing well on the right. Hence, it will make sense to go into the match with their both their regular wingers.
However, having Erling Haaland, De Bruyne and Alvarez in the same side means that the ball retention in the middle third might get affected adversely.
This means that Rodri and John Stones will have to take extra workload as defensive midfielders. Moreover, Gundogan underlined his importance to the team by scoring a brace against Leeds United on Saturday. Therefore, it will not be an easy decision to drop him from the starting eleven.
#2. Playing Kevin De Bruyne on the right flank:
Another option for Guardiola is to play De Bruyne on the right instead of Mahrez and thereby start either Gundogan or Bernardo in central midfield. De Bruyne naturally gravitates to the right flank, even while playing as a central midfielder.
That will enable Manchester City to have an extra man in the middle third, with both Silva and Gundogan adept at retaining possession.
However, not having Mahrez's defensive work-rate on the right-side could expose their right-back to the threat posed by Vinicius Junior. It remains to be seen how Guardiola solves this problem.