Okay, my guess is that Pellegrini will play a 4-2-3-1 in 2015-16. It’s a system that is questionable defensively but makes up for it with the unique attacking possibilities it creates when you pack so many quick, technically-gifted players into the final third.
Note that this change will probably mean dropping Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri for our most high-profile/high-tempo games. Pellegrini will instead favour a front three of Sterling, Silva, and De Bruyne. None of these players are conventional centre-forwards. But they are all energetic, guileful players with some creative ability on the ball – which is precisely what City need in those positions.
While the 4-2-3-1
seems a bit "risky", it’s actually the system that City functionally played for much of 2013-14 season and it’s the approach that most lends itself to the style Pellegrini wants to play. Fullbacks Pablo Zabaleta and Layvin Kurzawa will be pushed high up the pitch (meaning the team will be vulnerable to Mourinho-esque counterattacking if they lose possession), midfielders David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, and Raheem Sterling will be in advanced central roles just behind Kun Aguero. Paul Pogba will play long diagonal balls from the base of midfield, adding a dimension you don’t see as much from a typical City side that relies on winning the ball further up the field to create chances.
Due to the departure of Negredo over the summer, injuries to Aguero/Silva, and further fading of Yaya Toure, this year’s City squad could never play in the exact same way as the 2013-14 intake. Realistically there are only 2-3 players in the world who could slot into the Negredo and Toure roles without hurting the Blues' aggressive, attack-minded ethos - and none of those players were coming to the Ethiad in 2014.
