Pep Guardiola\u2019s decade at Manchester City has ended and Enzo Maresca steps into a complex job. Emulation of Guardiola is borderline impossible and the squad Maresca inherits lacks many of the previous stalwarts. Subtle changes will be necessary if City are to avoid a dip in 2026\u201327.<\/p>\n
Maresca favours a 4-3-3 base but in possession his teams often shift into a 3-2-2-3 to create a box midfield. Wingers keep width while one fullback joins the midfield pivot and the other inverts to form a back three. At Chelsea Maresca allowed Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez to operate between the lines and arrive in the box. His sides used strict positional play in possession, though he later adopted a more direct and vertical approach with a different squad. Out of possession his teams do not press strictly man-to-man but work with high intensity and aim to trap opponents wide.<\/p>\n
A realistic Maresca XI based on the current squad:<\/p>\n
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma \u2014 City\u2019s purchase of Donnarumma signalled Guardiola\u2019s tactical shift, and even though the Italian wasn\u2019t exactly outstanding in his debut campaign, Maresca will likely retain the supreme shot-stopper as his No. 1.<\/p>\n
RB: Tino Livramento \u2014 Matheus Nunes improved at right back, but the Portuguese midfielder remains the weak link in City\u2019s defence. Livramento would offer athleticism Maresca values.<\/p>\n
CB: Abdukodir Khusanov \u2014 After a difficult start to his Premier League career Khusanov has settled. He is an excellent recovery defender and has the physical tools to improve as a passer.<\/p>\n
CB: Jo\u0161ko Gvardiol \u2014 With John Stones gone there will be competition at centre back. Marc Gu\u00e9hi arrived in January, but Gvardiol remains a level above for the left-sided role.<\/p>\n
LB: Nico O\u2019Reilly \u2014 O\u2019Reilly developed as a midfielder and could suit an inverted role where his attacking instincts show.<\/p>\n
CM: Rodri \u2014 Stalwarts are leaving and there is no guarantee Rodri will remain beyond the summer. If he stays he will aim to recover from a difficult 2025\u201326 season and return closer to his Ballon d\u2019Or-winning best.<\/p>\n
CM: Elliot Anderson \u2014 Anderson could provide the box-crashing presence City seek and is considered more reliable defensively.<\/p>\n
RW: Antoine Semenyo \u2014 Semenyo\u2019s output can vary, but his goal threat and versatility were clear in his time at Bournemouth and in Manchester.<\/p>\n
AM: Rayan Cherki \u2014 Cherki is a rare creative talent and would test any manager\u2019s balance between structure and freedom.<\/p>\n
LW: Antoine Semenyo could be deployed in multiple attacking roles if required, giving Maresca options across the front line.<\/p>\n
This XI and shape aim to reflect Maresca\u2019s known principles and the specific traits of the current squad, recognising that transfer activity and injuries will influence the final picture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maresca faces Guardiola’s successor challenge at Man City, adjusting tactics around a changing squad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,969],"tags":[801,1064],"class_list":["post-14080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-city","category-premier-league","tag-antoine-semenyo","tag-ballon-dor-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}