Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Amorim to cause City more issues?
🔥 Munoz’s runs finally paying off
🔍 A player to watch this weekend
Amorim knows how to beat Man City
Manchester United go to the Etihad Stadium as underdogs, despite Manchester City’s dismal form. But Ruben Amorim knows what it takes to beat them. It was only last month that he masterminded a 4-1 win over Pep Guardiola’s men in the Champions League.
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Speaking on NBC Sports, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville urged Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim to pick his best team rather than continue to rotate
His Sporting side were one of the first to exploit Manchester City’s weaknesses this season, targeting their soft centre without Rodri and tearing through it using quick and direct attacks spearheaded by the devastating Victor Gyokeres, who ended up with a hat-trick.
Sporting had to ride their luck at times in the first half and only had 26 per cent of the possession overall. But their approach has been successfully mirrored by a string of sides since, leaving Manchester City in their worst run of form for two decades.
Juventus became just the latest side to profit from their vulnerability to counter-attacks on Wednesday, the second goal in their 2-0 win coming after they won possession high up the pitch then burst through the void where City’s midfield should be.
Such openness has become a familiar sight.
According to Opta, Manchester City have allowed 47 fast breaks in all competitions this season. Amazingly, it is nearly 70 per cent more than any other Premier League side. They also rank top in terms of shots faced (41) and goals conceded (six) from fast breaks.
Without the right level of physical dynamism among his available midfield options, Guardiola seems unable to fix the problem, exemplified by the sight of the aging Ilkay Gundogan failing to even get close to Weston McKennie in the build-up to that second Juventus goal.
Amorim will note it has been an issue domestically as well as in Europe. Data from GeniusIQ shows Manchester City have only applied pressure to 68 per cent of opposition carries in the Premier League this season, a significant drop from 75 per cent last term.
Opponents are finding opportunities to hurt Manchester City by running through them, often unopposed, in other words, and the way in which they are defending against them has changed too.
Breaking down a low block was once described by Guardiola’s old rival Jurgen Klopp as “the most difficult thing to do” in football but it is something Manchester City are facing with increasing regularity as their opponents use defensive compactness to frustrate them.
This season, GeniusIQ’s data shows 71 per cent of Manchester City’s attacks have come against opponents in a state of compactness, which is defined as all outfield players being within 25 metres of each other for at least six seconds of an attacking sequence.
That percentage of attacks against compact defences is far higher than any other Premier League side, with Arsenal next on 60 per cent. It is also a significant increase on Manchester City’s previous seasons, up from 62 per cent last term and 56 per cent in 2022/23.
An example of Crystal Palace in a compact defensive shape against Manchester City
More opposition bodies behind the ball also means a more crowded penalty box for the out-of-form Erling Haaland and Manchester City’s cast of supporting forwards.
Manchester City’s opponents are averaging 7.3 defenders in the box per shot this season. It is more than last season, when they averaged 6.5, and any of the previous three. It has become more difficult for Guardiola’s players to force openings as a result.
Manchester City’s opponents are embracing these tactics knowing attacking opportunities will arise through counters and transitions and the formula is clearly working. City have conceded nearly twice as many goals as they have scored across the last 10 games.
Sunday 15th December 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Guardiola appears powerless to stem the flow. “He has got no answers for it right now,” said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher after the Juventus game. And in Amorim, he is about to meet one of the managers responsible for exposing his side’s flaws.
It is not difficult to imagine how Manchester United will set up, Amorim’s back three becoming a back five as they aim to soak up pressure and frustrate Manchester City while Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and the rest wait for opportunities to spring forward on the counter.
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Sky Sports’ Peter Smith explains why Manchester United head coach Amorim has repeatedly reshuffled his starting XI line-up
Manchester United are of course in poor form themselves having lost their last two Premier League games. But a trip to the Etihad Stadium does not carry its usual fear factor right now. This wounded Manchester City side are beatable. The winning blueprint is clear.
Elusive Munoz finds cutting edge
Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz faces Brighton on Super Sunday having scored twice in three Premier League games. Both goals, his opener in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City and his equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle, came from untracked runs.
Daniel Munoz has impressed for Crystal Palace in recent weeks
The wing-back had not found the net in 12 games before the Newcastle game but he has been getting similar opportunities all season, with opponents frequently failing to mark him.
Munoz ranks fifth among Premier League players for unmarked runs into the opposition penalty box this season. His total of 37 puts him behind only Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son, Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, Fulham’s Alex Iwobi and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
In the opening months of the campaign, the frustration for manager Oliver Glasner was that Munoz was unable to capitalise. But that appears to have changed. The elusive Colombia international will hope to inflict more damage at the Amex Stadium on Sunday.
Sunday 15th December 1:00pm
Kick off 2:00pm
Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson was excellent against Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka last weekend. How will he fare against Mohamed Salah? The 27-year-old, who counts Liverpool among his reported suitors, is quietly establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s best left-backs.
Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?
Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa on Saturday Night Football, with coverage starting Sky Sports Premier League at 5pm ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off.
Super Sunday sees rivals Brighton and Crystal Palace go head to head in the early game, kicking off at 2pm, with Manchester City and Manchester United facing off at the Etihad Stadium at 4.30pm. Coverage of that double-header begins on Sky Sports Premier League at 1pm.
Monday Night Football sees Bournemouth go up against West Ham in a battle between two of the Premier League’s Basque managers, Andoni Iraola and Julen Lopetegui. Jamie Carragher and David Jones will be live on Sky Sports Premier League, with a special guest, from 6.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off.
Read last week’s Radar column
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber was the focus of last week’s column, which also looked at how Ruud van Nistelrooy could get the best out of Jamie Vardy at Leicester, before he scored one goal and set up another against Brighton.
