..........................Ederson
Walker..........Stones...........Otamendi......Zinchenko
............Fernandinho...............Rodri
.....Bernardo...............KDB..................Sterling
.......................Aguero
No need for wholesale changes, and we definitely won’t give “debuts” to both Cancelo & Mendy!
CL is about winning at home and not losing away. Grabbing away wins against the 3 & 4 seeds are what win the group.
Accordingly, we will set out to stamp our authority on the game, and maybe get a goal, then possibly allow Rodri to slide into a slightly more advanced role ahead of Fernandinho when attacking, allowing Bernardo to slide out right, KDB to shuffle over to his right, and the full backs to slide into their usual midfield positions when we have the ball, then we transition into a 2-3-4-1,
..........................Ederson
.................Stones...........Otamendi......
.....Walker............Fernandinho............Zinchenko
Bernardo........KDB............Rodri.................Sterling
.........................Aguero
From there, once established in possession and camped in their half, the wide players get into a forward 3, with 5 players in an attacking (anti-counterattack) arc across the field at about 25-30 meters.
.........................Ederson
.................Stones...........Otamendi
........................Fernandinho
..............KDB.......................Rodri
Walker............................................Zinchenko
.........Bernardo........Aguero........Sterling
This then allows the space for Aguero to come deep to open up the space for the through ball (or chip) in behind to Sterling or Bernardo, OR KDB to float into that middle slot and Fernandinho & Rodri to protect us against the counter attack in an ultra offensive 2-2-2-4 with the full back (on the attacking side) joining the frontline attackers, while the full back on the other side tucks inside to create the 2 with the advanced midfielder (in this case, KBD)
..........................Ederson
.................Stones...........Otamendi
.............Fernandinho..........Rodri
(Walker)........<<<<<<KDB>>>>>>.....(Zinchenko)
(Walker)...Bernardo......Aguero.....Sterling..(Zinchenko)
Tin hat on.
To be fair, I was on the loo and had a bit of time, so it’s not like I wasn’t multitasking to do that!!
