I think today is the first time in a while we seem to be really suffering for our squad size. We've had other matches recently where the bench has looked threadbare, but today the players on the pitch looked tired and jaded.
We've got the cover at CB so if the Dias/Laporte performances today were due to tiredness then that's down to an uncharacteristic lack of rotation. We have four very good centre-backs who've all been uninjured and available for weeks. Whoever's playing there in any given match should be fit and focused and motivated.
The fullback positions are more problematic. If Walker's unfit or out of form then our only option is to switch Cancelo to what I guess is now his second-best position, meaning we need to replace him at LB, or we play Stones at RB and although he's been great there lately I don't think it's a long-term solution. LB is a little better as we have Zinchenko as back up (or Ake/Laporte if they're not already at CB).
Rodri is a real concern. Fernandinho seems to still be capable of occasional top-level performances, but he's obviously approaching the end of his career and he can't just step in whenever. That leaves us needing Rodri to play almost every match and it's simply not doable, no-one could perform the way we need him to that regularly.
KDB and Gundogan are both incredible players capable of making a real difference, but as they age and tire they're both increasingly likely to drop a poor performance where they seem to be out of step with the rest of the team. The only other player Pep seems to trust in either of those 8 roles is Bernardo, who's played so much and so hard all season that he's now clearly exhausted. And we've got to bear in mind that we have to fill the false 9 spot with one of those three or Foden, too (the other options there being currently unavailable).
Losing Jesus, Grealish and Palmer to injury all at the same time would affect any team's front line. Mahrez and Sterling are both in good form so it's not as bad as it could be, but if we want to rest either of them, or they're on the pitch and it's not working out we have very few options right now to change things up. And Foden seems to be really struggling with the sheer amount of positional flexibility that's being asked of him.
This squad is incredible on its day but as people have been saying for ages, we need an L/RB, a CDM and a striker - whether players we buy or players moving up from the academy, it doesn't matter, but it has to be someone good enough that they can actually start some PL games. And if Pep's long-term plan is, as reports have suggested for a while, for Foden and/or Grealish to move into those 8 positions, we need to start giving them some game-time there.
