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Big money, big managers — so what’s happened to the Manchester teams?

Spending the most money on big-name signings, with the best managers on the planet parachuted in to guide them, Manchester’s finest were supposed to make this season’s English Premier League (EPL) title challenge a two-horse race. So what has happened? Ahead of another testing weekend for Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, our EPL analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) assesses where the problems lie …

Jose Mourinho. PHOTO: AP

Jose Mourinho. PHOTO: AP

Spending the most money on big-name signings, with the best managers on the planet parachuted in to guide them, Manchester’s finest were supposed to make this season’s English Premier League (EPL) title challenge a two-horse race. So what has happened? Ahead of another testing weekend for Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, our EPL analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) assesses where the problems lie …

MANCHESTER CITY

Keep things simpler. That is my advice to highbrow tactician Pep Guardiola (picture) as he looks to make up lost ground in the crucial middle third of the season.

We know he is a mastermind coach who is borderline genius when it comes to plotting unusual strategies, but there comes a time when even the very best accidentally over-complicate matters — and that is where the Spaniard finds himself at the moment.

He has made a startling 46 changes to his starting XI in 14 matches. That is 12 more than any other boss, and 38 more than Antonio Conte, who has guided Chelsea to top spot. While a bit of rest and rotation is essential when you are involved in the Champions League, it seems crystal clear that Guardiola’s urge to fiddle has inadvertently weakened his domestic challenge.

Lining up alongside different players each week is hard enough, but having to also then adapt to constantly changing systems makes it infinitely harder to find rhythm. Lacking familiarity, City’s ever-experimenting XIs have found the Premier League an unforgiving laboratory. Had they stuck to the 4-1-4-1 that clicked so beautifully in the early weeks, with fewer changes in personnel, I am convinced Manchester City would be far closer to the leaders, if not leading the pack.

WHERE iS THE DEFENCE?

Defending properly is the other major issue that needs addressing. Was it an oversight not to invest in younger Guardiola-style fullbacks last summer? Yes, and a bad one at that.

Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov have all been fine servants at the Etihad, but they do not have the tools to fulfil their new manager’s brief. Each has disappointed him so much he would often rather toy with Jesus Navas, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane as wingbacks.

None of them are astute enough without the ball to be trusted in those positions yet. Not in the big games anyway.

It would not be so alarming had City been resolute down the centre, which they have not been. Nicolas Otamendi has a chronic diving-in disorder, Vincent Kompany is never fit, and week in, week out John Stones fails to comprehend the importance of risk-management.

Obsessed with showing everyone how good he is in possession, the England international is a true disciple of Guardiola’s philosophy, but his indulgent errors are costing goals. If City’s head coach does not at least try to address that, clean sheets will remain elusive.

Let us face it, Manchester City have wonderful players, and they are a joy to watch. But that alone will not win them the title.

The manager’s task now is to settle on a side, and sort out the haphazard defensive structure. If he does that, all is not lost.

He was not a universally popular choice, but Jose Mourinho (picture) was still viewed as a serial winner who was practically guaranteed to restore Manchester United’s glory days.

The man would win trophies. But at what cost? Already the image of the club has been tainted by the Portuguese coach’s erratic, often bitter, actions but the supporters are still waiting to see the upside. Some are even wondering if their board has appointed a busted flush.

I would not go that far (yet) but the former Chelsea gaffer’s inauspicious start to life at the Theatre of Dreams is a cause for concern. The charismatic charmer who wooed the Chelsea dressing room during his first spell in England has all but perished. Back in those days, his players would run across hot coals if he asked them to. They adored him.

When United’s players look at their new boss, Mourinho is not the same person he was. Years of life in the media spotlight seem to have withered his sense of humour, and his paranoid attitude is not conducive to forming a happy workplace.

I would not say United’s first team are not trying, but they seem to lack the passion and unity we used to associate with Mourinho sides.

HAS MOURINHO LOST HIS TOUCH?

The Special One’s magic touch appears to have deserted him too. Aside from bringing Marcus Rashford off the bench to score at Hull City early in the campaign, very few of Mourinho’s second-half substitutions have clicked. Instead, some have backfired, including last weekend, when Marouane Fellaini conceded a late penalty.

Tellingly, in the second half of matches in the EPL this term, their goal difference is 7-10 (Chelsea’s is 19-4) and in the final 15 minutes it has been even worse.

Between the 75th minute and final whistle, Manchester United have scored just once all season, conceding five at the wrong end. The manager has to take some responsibility for that. His changes must be better.

In fairness, they are playing a brand of football that is much easier on the eye than the one played under Louis van Gaal. With the tempo higher, United are creating just as many chances as their chief rivals. It is simply their finishing that is letting them down.

An 11.4 per cent conversion rate is well down on the current top four, who tuck away between 17 and 22 per cent of the opportunities that fall their way.

A little like Guardiola over at City, Mourinho has not made up his mind on his best XI either. Since match day 3, for example, he has altered the configuration of his attacking midfielders in all but one match.

Finding a clear identity — and their shooting boots — will help United climb the table this winter.

Big Match Predictions

Leicester City 2 Manchester City 2

Both teams are vulnerable at the back, so we could be in for a treat at the King Power. Fading heroes Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were rested in midweek with this clash in mind, and if they look refreshed they’ll cause problems. An Aguero-less City will be less potent than usual, but Foxes clean sheets are increasingly rare.

Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Letting the gap widen between themselves and the rest of the big guns is not an option for United. This is a match they cannot afford to lose. Spurs will be boosted by the return of ace defender Toby Alderweireld, but on home turf the Red Devils have been playing pretty well. Providing they take their chances, I expect a narrow home win.

Liverpool 3 West Ham United 0

The Hammers won this fixture last season, but a repeat looks unlikely. Slaven Bilic has confessed there’s an attitude problem within his squad and it showed in some of their pitiful defending against Arsenal. Going forward Liverpool should be way too hot to handle. In fact, Jurgen Klopp’s strikers will be begging him to let them start.

Chelsea 2 West Bromwich Albion 1

This encounter might be closer than many people imagine. The Baggies are playing their best football of the Tony Pulis era, and in Matt Phillips and Salomon Rondon they boast two form players. Chelsea are just so formidable though, and their superior pace and movement will ensure the winning streak continues. Just.

LIVE ON TV:

TONIGHT:

Watford v Everton (SingTel Ch 102 & StarHub 227, 8.30pm)

Hull v Crystal Palace (Ch 104 & Ch 230, 10.50pm)

Burnley v AFC Bournemouth (Ch 105 & Ch 231, 10.50pm)

Arsenal v Stoke City (Ch 103 & Ch 228, 10.55pm)

Swansea v Sunderland (Ch 102 & Ch 227, 11pm)

TOMORROW:

Leicester City v Manchester City (Ch 102 & Ch 227, 1.30am)

Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion (Ch 103 & Ch 228, 7.55pm)

Manchester United v Tottenham (Ch 103 & Ch 228, 10.10pm)

Southampton v Middlesbrough (Ch 102 & Ch 227, 10.15pm)

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