Manchester City’s Weakness at Right-Back Leaves Them Vulnerable

Manchester City’s recent results—a draw with Celtic and a defeat to Tottenham—have at least served to calm some of the hysteria that had been building around Pep Guardiola’s side.

Ten wins in succession at the start of the Catalan’s reign had led to misplaced and frankly bizarre claims that City would stroll to the Premier League title unchallenged and emulate Arsenal’s Invincibles, despite finishing last season with just 66 points. Leaps like that are unheralded, Leicester City notwithstanding, since the English top flight was reformatted in 1992, and it’s clear City will face a battle this year to finish at the top of the table.

Their squad remains somewhat unbalanced, despite what looks like an excellent summer spend. Some poor transfer windows over recent seasons left them in need of major surgery, much of which has been carried out. However, some holes remain, most notably in the full-back areas.

That weakness may well be badly exposed in the coming weeks. Bacary Sagna suffered a hamstring tear on international duty on Friday and is set to miss the next month. Pablo Zabaleta, his obvious replacement, is no longer the player he once was. City have a clear failing their opponents will look to target.

And it isn’t an easy run of fixtures they need to negotiate without Sagna. The Frenchman is likely to miss Premier League matches against Everton, West Brom and Southampton, as well as the two crucial Champions League games against Barcelona and the EFL Cup tie away at Manchester United.

It’s too early to talk about a season-defining period—but this, make no mistake, is a vital few weeks.

It’s a situation that highlights the need for City to invest further. Sagna, 33, has been a steady influence over the past year, but a long-term option he quite clearly is not. Zabaleta, two years his junior, looks to have run out of steam and has been struggling for some time.

He has lost pace and is being beaten too often and too easily. The picture of Danny Rose pulling away from him during the game at White Hart Lane last week, although only a snapshot and therefore hardly overwhelming evidence of a player’s decline, seems incredibly poignant right now.

It was possibly short-sighted of City not to address the issue this summer—but after significant investment in the squad, it may have …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com