Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column where Nick Wright uses a mix of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from across the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Amorim will cause more problems for City? 🔥 Munoz's runs are finally paying off 🔍 A player to keep an eye on this weekend
Amorim manages to beat Man City
Manchester United head to the Etihad Stadium as underdogs despite Manchester City's dismal form. But Ruben Amorim knows what it takes to beat them. Only last month he masterminded a 4-1 win over Pep Guardiola's men in the Champions League.
His Sporting team was one of the first to exploit Manchester City's weaknesses this season by targeting the soft center without Rodri and breaking through with quick and direct attacks led by the devastating Victor Gyokeres, who finished with a hat trick.
Sporting had to try their luck occasionally in the first half and had only 26 percent of the ball possession in total. But their approach has since been successfully mirrored by a string of sides, leaving Manchester City in their worst form for two decades.
Juventus became only the latest team to take advantage of their vulnerability to counter-attacks on Wednesday. The second goal in their 2-0 win came after winning possession high up the pitch and then bursting through the void where City's midfield should be.
Such openness has become a familiar sight.
According to Opta, Manchester City have allowed 47 fast breaks across all competitions this season. Amazingly, this is almost 70 percent more than any other team in the Premier League. They also rank top in terms of number of shots made (41) and number of goals conceded (six) from fast breaks.
Without the right level of physical dynamism in midfield, Guardiola appears unable to solve the problem, illustrated by the sight of the aging Ilkay Gundogan failing to get anywhere near Weston McKennie in the build-up to that second Juventus goal.
Amorim will note that it is a problem both domestically and in Europe. Data from GeniusIQ shows that Manchester City have only pressured 68 percent of their opponents in the Premier League this season, a significant drop from 75 percent last season.
In other words, opponents find opportunities to hurt Manchester City by running through them often unopposed, and the way they defend against them has also changed.
Breaking a low block was once described by Guardiola's old rival Jurgen Klopp as 'the most difficult thing there is' in football, but it is something Manchester City are increasingly faced with as their opponents use defensive compactness to outpace them. frustrate.
GeniusIQ data shows that this season, 71 percent of Manchester City's attacks against opponents have been carried out in a state of compactness, which is defined as all outfield players being within 25 meters of each other for at least six seconds of an attacking sequence.
That percentage of attacks against compact defenses is much higher than any other team in the Premier League, with Arsenal next at 60 percent. It is also a significant increase on Manchester City's previous seasons, compared to 62 percent last season and 56 percent in 2022/23.
More opposition bodies behind the ball also means a more crowded penalty area for the out-of-form Erling Haaland and Manchester City's supporting strikers.
Manchester City's opponents have averaged 7.3 defenders in the penalty area per shot this season. It's more than last season, when they averaged a 6.5, and each of the previous three. This has made it more difficult for Guardiola's players to force openings.
Manchester City's opponents are embracing these tactics, knowing that attacking opportunities will present themselves through counters and transitions and that the formula is clearly working. City have conceded almost twice as many goals as they have in their last ten games.
Guardiola seems powerless to stem the tide. “He doesn't have any answers at the moment,” Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said after the Juventus match. And in Amorim he is about to meet one of the managers responsible for exposing his side's shortcomings.
It's not hard to imagine how Manchester United will line up. Amorim's back three becomes a back five. They look to absorb the pressure and frustrate Manchester City, while Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and the rest wait for opportunities to jump forward on the counter.
Manchester United are of course in poor form themselves, having lost their last two Premier League games. But a trip to the Etihad Stadium doesn't bring the usual fear factor at the moment. This wounded Manchester City team is beatable. The winning blueprint is clear.
The elusive Munoz finds groundbreaking work
Crystal Palace's Daniel Munoz will take on Brighton on Super Sunday after scoring twice in three Premier League games. Both goals, his opener in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City and his equalizer in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle, came from trackless runs.
The full-back had failed to find the net in 12 games before the match against Newcastle, but he had similar chances throughout the season, with opponents often unable to mark him.
Munoz ranks fifth among Premier League players for unmarked runs into the opponent's penalty area this season. His total of 37 puts him behind only Tottenham's Heung-Min Son, Chelsea's Noni Madueke, Fulham's Alex Iwobi and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
In the early months of the campaign, manager Oliver Glasner's frustration was that Munoz could not capitalize. But that seems to have changed. The elusive Colombia international will be hoping to do even more damage at the Amex Stadium on Sunday.
Player radar: who else should you keep an eye on?
Fulham's Antonee Robinson was excellent against Arsenal's Bukayo Saka last weekend. How will he do against Mohamed Salah? The 27-year-old, who counts Liverpool among his prospects, is quietly establishing himself as one of the Premier League's best left-backs.
Live radar: what's on Sky this weekend?
Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa on Saturday Night Football, with coverage from the Sky Sports Premier League at 5pm ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off.
On Super Sunday, rivals Brighton and Crystal Palace will face off in the early match, starting at 2pm, while Manchester City and Manchester United will face each other at the Etihad Stadium at 4.30pm. Coverage of that double-header starts at 1pm on Sky Sports Premier League.
Monday Night Football sees Bournemouth take on West Ham in a battle between two Basque Premier League managers, Andoni Iraola and Julen Lopetegui. Jamie Carragher and David Jones will be live on the Sky Sports Premier League from 6.30pm, with a special guest, ahead of the 8pm kick-off.
Read last week's Radar column
Arsenal's Jurrien Timber was the focus of last week's column, which also looked at how Ruud van Nistelrooy could get the best out of Jamie Vardy at Leicester, before scoring one goal and setting up another against Brighton.
Comments