How John Stones at Right-Back changes Manchester City

Manchester City’s last two games, against Wolves and Borussia Dortmund, have seen John Stones deployed as a right-back in Pep Guardiola’s notorious 4-3-3 set-up.

And whilst many would expect the England-international to be a like-for-like replacement for Kyle Walker as the initiator in an asymmetrical full-back system, functioning as a right-sided centre-back in a back-three when City have the ball, this is indeed not the case.

And it makes Stones an unorthodox right full-back as a result, considering his reputation as a central defender.

So why is Pep utilising Stones in this way?

WALKER’S INJURY

Walker’s knock against Aston Villa just a couple of weeks ago has seen him miss three games in that time span.

Joao Cancelo took his place in the game against Sevilla, whilst Sergio Gomez featured at left-back.

But the following games against Borussia Dortmund and Wolves saw Stones feature at right-back, with Cancelo reverting to the inverted full-back role on the left that we have all grown so used to.

CITY WITH WALKER AT RB

As briefly covered earlier on, Kyle Walker acts as the initiator for the likes of Joao Cancelo to advance into a more progressive position.

As a defensive-minded full-back, he makes up a back-three when City have the ball, with Cancelo acting as a central midfielder through his inverted positioning.

Walker’s selfless efforts mean that Manchester City’s native central midfielders can progress, knowing there is cover in the space they leave behind.

With Walker at right-back, City’s build up usually looks something along the lines of a 3-2-5 formation in-possession, to put it simply.

CITY WITH STONES AT RB

In what is one of the tactical shocks of the season, a Manchester City side with John Stones at right-back sees Pep’s side push even higher up the pitch, in what is an example of inverted full-back positioning.

Both Cancelo and Stones push up as makeshift midfielders when City have the ball, creating a midfield three with Rodri.

Stones’ progressive nature as a full-back sees De Bruyne push higher up the pitch, with the England international able to recover the ball through his advanced positioning.

With Stones at right-back, City’s build-up looks something along the lines of a 2-4-4 formation in-possession.

MANCHESTER CITY VS BORUSSIA DORTMUND

The 2-1 Champions League victory against Edin Terzic’s Dortmund side saw Stones score a cracker, having ventured his way forward via an inverted position just outside the box.

And it was this rather shocking movement that enabled Kevin De Bruyne to occupy progressive positioning for City on a consistent basis, with the gap in the mid-third filled by the 28-year-old Englishman.

MANCHESTER CITY VS WOLVES

We saw Stones’ willingness to push up into midfield once again, with Jack Grealish’s opener a result of his progressive positioning, which, in turn, allowed De Bruyne greater freedom to rotate with Phil Foden in what made for a beautiful link-up to fire City 1-0 up inside the first minute.

It was a constant theme that gave City four in midfield when they had the ball, with Bernardo Silva offering support from deep, whilst Cancelo took up a slightly wider position than we are used to seeing.

It paid off and once again saw De Bruyne take up a central number ten role for the majority of play, alongside Grealish, with the pair just behind Haaland who of course led the attacking line.

Throughout this game, City were a lot more narrow, with credit given to the likes of Phil Foden, who dropped into a deep central position, and John Stones, who shifted into a more advanced inverted role, for allowing this shape to occur.

A SHOCK FROM STONES

So, in short, John Stones is much more progressive than we thought.

And when deployed at full-back, occupies a higher position than Kyle Walker usually does, based on our two game sample size from this season.

It affords De Bruyne greater freedom to attack and bolsters the midfield.

Though, it does mean that Cancelo is not as free to roam as he is when Walker plays, and does see City rotate slightly less than usual, whilst making them a bit more vulnerable to opposition counters.

Which system do you prefer?

The 2-3-5 with John Stones at right-back?

or

The 3-2-5 with Kyle Walker at right-back?