Chapter 140: Tactical Choices

'It's going to be a league title game, both sides are going to come out in this game, neither Manchester United nor Manchester City want to lose in this game!' Next to Andy Gray is Gary Neville.

"For Manchester City, a loss in this game would basically mean they are out of contention for the league title. With Manchester United's form, if City are nine points behind and there are ten rounds of the league remaining, there is basically no hope for Manchester City. "I'm sure Conte must be watching this game on the TV at the moment. ”

Andy Gray laughed. Journalists interviewed the heads of Chelsea and Liverpool separately about the game. Jurgen Klopp is very urban and has been very honest about the fact that he will be watching the game on TV, after all, the result of this game will be related to Liverpool's league situation.

In fact, for Chelsea, this game is the big one, and if United lose points, Chelsea can take the opportunity to chase the gap with Manchester United.

However, Conte told reporters: "I'm not going to watch this game, I'm focused on Chelsea and I'm going to go golf or go back to Italy for a beach holiday..."

Gary Neville was right, in London, at Conte's residence, the Italian was indeed turning on the TV to watch the game. There is no doubt that Conte is now a supporter of Pep Guardiola.

And what kind of tactics will Guardiola prepare today?

In fact, it is not difficult to guess that Guardiola's overall tactical style still emphasizes possession and pursues short passing on the ground. Before the game, there was concern about which goalkeeper Pep Guardiola would field today.

Joe Hart has now completely lost his place as the main goalkeeper, he can't even make the Manchester City squad, and in recent games, Guardiola has used either Bravo or Caballero.

Bravo, who Pep Guardiola brought in from Barcelona, has been questioned this season because the goalkeeper has made several serious mistakes, and has even been ridiculed by fans as a "shot on target" - as long as the opponent shoots within the range of the goal frame, Manchester City will be cold.

At this time, the players of both sides were already standing in the field, and the captains of both sides were carrying out the edge picking ceremony.

Li Qingshan and Kompany, if in the Premier League, the defender's physical fitness can barely compete with Li Qingshan, then there is only Kompany. The Belgian's physical strength is quite good, in fact, before this game, Kompany has been recovering from injury, just after returning from injury, Guardiola shot Kompany to start, not without letting Kompany deal with Li Qingshan.

Of course, Kompany fought against Li Qingshan, but he basically didn't take advantage of it, and his body strength, which he was most proud of, actually became a disadvantage when he faced Li Qingshan.

It seems that Kompany will have to find another way to deal with Li Qingshan in this game.

"Let's take a look at the starting line-ups of both sides!" Andy Gray in the commentary box said.

In the goalkeeper position, Guardiola chose to continue to trust Bravo, and in the center-back combination, Guardiola sent Kompany to partner Otamendi, right wing-back Shabaleta, left wing-back Kolarov, Fernandinho at the back, and the other four midfielders are Yaya Toure, Sterling, De Bruyne, Sane! The striker is No. 10 Sergio Aguero. Today Pep Guardio released a 4141 formation. ”

Strictly speaking, 4141 should be summarized in the 451 formation, but because of the refinement of the midfield and the difference in specific tactics, 4141 will also become a formation that everyone discusses.

In fact, 4141 is not the preferred formation of most mainstream teams, but in the event of injuries or players who have not been able to improve their condition, they choose to change the formation of 4141, which is mainly used as a tactical rotation. Pep Guardiola's release of this formation, rather than the 433 he has always admired, shows that at Manchester City, Guardiola has not yet found a player combination that meets his needs.

In fact, Guardiola discharged 4141, the main reason is David Silva's injury, which made Guardiola very headache for the lack of the most important link in the three midfield, and after some consideration, Guardiola chose such a starter.

In terms of tactics, 4141 is a very proactive tactic, also compared with 433, the pressing and pressing in the front court is an optional tactic of 433 rather than the only tactic, but 4141 is different, as soon as this formation is taken out, it basically means the failure of tactics if it does not play the momentum and strength of front-court pressure.

"It seems that Manchester City are going to take the initiative to press Manchester United at home in this game." Gary Neville said.

"Let's take a look at Manchester United's starters, goalkeeper De Gea, right wing-back Valencia, central defender Hummels partnered with Rojo, left wing-back Sandro, three midfielders with Herrera, Pogba, Fellaini, the front three players are still Di Maria, Mata, Li Qingshan, this is Manchester United's relatively fixed starting list, under the rule of Ancelotti, Manchester United's starting lineup and tactics are very stable, which is also related to the stable play brought by this set of tactics and starters."

Just as Andy Gray was announcing the starting line-ups for both sides, the Etihad Stadium resounded with the roar of planes, and the sound grew louder and louder from far and near.

All the fans looked up at the sky, and even many of the players looked at the sky curiously.

A helicopter dragged a huge motor roared past the Etihad Stadium, and the picture in front of the TV also locked on the flying plane, and at the same time, a few large characters dragged on the plane also appeared clearly in front of the fans.

"Hahaha!! Arsene Wenger's supporters used planes to play pro-Wenger slogans during the Manchester derby!! "Andy Gray is gone.

"It seems that the aircraft leasing company has been doing good business lately." Gary Neville also quipped.

This season's Arsenal record is obviously not as good as in previous years, if it can still compete for the top four in previous years, then this season's Arsenal has basically lost the possibility of entering the top four, and what makes Arsenal fans even worse is that they are likely to be suppressed by Tottenham Hotspur, the sworn rival of north London, in the league standings.

Therefore, Arsene Wenger, who has been a manager at Arsenal for more than 20 years, has been opposed by many Arsenal fans.

Even at Arsenal's home stadium, fans have flown over the Emirates Stadium with planes pulling signs that say "Arsene Wenger is out of class".

The momentum quickly sparked a rivalry between Arsene Wenger's supporters and opponents, although it had previously been on Arsenal match days, with the two sides battling each other by flying slogans. And this is a Manchester derby, which has nothing to do with Arsenal, but who would have thought that Wenger's supporters would make such a move in such a game.