Gameweek 6: The Post Mortem. FUL v MCI, NOR v LIV

Fulham 1 Man City 2, Norwich 2 Liverpool 5

Firstly, apologies for the delayed posts. New work schedule, new arrangements graphically and financially as I have to seek a new source for my diagrams. Will put up the summaries first, but will only do the relatively big games and go with predictions come Friday. The pictures will come too when they are ready

Summary:

Fulham leave a huge hole in the left with Bryan Ruiz moving center to help defend, and City punish the for it. Fulham brought more balance in the second half and should have punished City, but City ultimately deserved better and played arguably their best (or at least most coherent) attacking formation this season so far.

Norwich make more errors than Liverpool and Suarez duly got his hat-trick out of it. Liverpool stick to their 4-3-3, but the front three of Suso, Sterling and Suarez, who are relatively fluid compared to when Borini was there, prompted the likes of Gerrard and Sahin to take up more advanced positions and duly got their goals.

Fulham 1 Man City 2

Lineups:

Fulham lineup the same 4-4-2 as last week, with Mladen Petric coming in for the injured Berbatov and Ruiz starting ahead of Kacaniklic. City, however, field a very, very offensive lineup that they usually reserve for their second half as Yaya Toure is now the focus of their attack shielded by Garth Barry and Javi Garcia as central midfielders behind him. With David Silva playing deployed relatively advanced alongside Aguero and Tevez in a 4-2-1-3 formation, the onus will be on City's wing forwards to track back and assist their fullbacks in defending against Fulham's quality, which is on the wings. Nastasic also debuts in favor of Joleon Lescott in the center of defense, which signals Mancini's lack of certainty in his best back line at the moment.

Tactical Notes:

• City get punished unexpectedly early, but Fulham's defensive gameplan and their lopsided midfield allow City to capitalise

It is quite important to note that Mancini fielded their wide-forwards, Silva and Aguero as inverted wingers, which implies that Fulham's wide players would almost always be able to receive the ball out wide with relatively little pressure. Fulham's first attack from the flanks were unexpectedly awarded when Riise, receiving a long pass unmarked, drew a foul from Zabaleta and went one up from the resulting penalty.

While we can credit City for hitting Fulham where it hurts, Fulham's defensive reaction was alarmingly passive. In defense, Baird hovered level with his backline until they were outnumbered, while their "aggresive" ball winners were Sidwell from defense and Ruiz from offense.

The space both teams left on the flanks prompted City's offensive players to take turns in utilising it. in possession, while Fulham's forwards, Petric and Rodallega used it to hit City on the counter. With Fulham relying on Bryan Ruiz to dictate play from deep, his runners ahead of him have at least drawn fouls for Fulham to create chances from set pieces. Zabaleta and Silva were City's chief culprits initially, but City got their equaliser when Tevez moved into that space, took a shot and Aguero converting the rebound.

In City's goal, when Silva moved centrally, Ruiz, who initially hurried back to mark Tevez, was drawn towards Silva when Sidwell was also closing him down, and Silva duly played it back to the free Tevez who shot, which could've been prevented with either Baird being more proactive, or Ruiz working out the marking with Sidwell. Either way, Fulham's defensive tactics, especially in the left flank that Ruiz vacated, severely let them down.

Another development from this City lineup was that Gareth Barry took turns with Yaya Toure to venture forward, suggesting that Mancini is tinkering with a double pivot ahead of a central defensive midfielder. While Mancini's pairing of Toure and Garcia were exposed by Arsenal's pace last week, they looked much more secure through the middle with Garcia behind Toure and Barry, suggesting that this formation could potentially be used against a fluid system such as Arsenal or their next opponents, Borussia Dortmund.

• Fulham's attempt to rectify that problem didn't work, but their subs did the job and City do it the hard way

Fulham's initial solution after the break was to drop Hugo Rodallega deeper and switched Sidwell to the left. However, with Zabaleta constantly bombing forward for City, Sidwell had to track him all the way in, and when Zabaleta pushed wide, Sidwell didn't follow him and Zabaleta was at the heart of City's near misses.

City then brought on some natural width by introducing Kacaniklic, and City rarely used that flank anymore. Ruiz now operated centrally behind Hugo Rodallega while the fearless Kacaniklic attacked down Fulham's left flank, and were unlucky (at least in my opinion) to not win a penalty after his cross struck Zabaleta's arm.

Mancini made his 4-1-2-3 permanent by bringing on Samir Nasri to operate alongside Toure. In terms of tactical progression, City were more than happy to keep banging on the wall until Fulham cracked, while Fulham made a like for like change in Karagounis coming on for Baird. With Fulham dilligent until the last second, Dzeko produced a moment of brilliance worthy of a match winner as the unstoppable force beats the immovable object this round.

Fantasy Implications:

A game that began fascinating tactically ended up being a Helm's Deep episode as City finally triumphed against a side trying hard to keep them out. For this performance, it's easy to single out David Silva in this new 4-2-1-3 formation, but it's interesting to note that Yaya Toure's influence on this game was rather contained, even when City were searching for a match winner. Fulham only have themselves to blame, and while Petric got his goal, Kacaniklic was a bright spark and should warrant a start next game against Southampton. Bryan Ruiz's central positioning will be monitored in the coming weeks, as Fulham are starting to show a new plan outside their usual 4-4-2. 

Norwich 2 Liverpool 5

Lineups:

Norwich play 4-4-2 with an odd pairing of Simeon Jackson and Steve Morison up front. While Norwich's approach on the game can be seen as proactive, with Surman operating on the left, Norwich's defensive holes are there for Liverpool to exploit, notably in their lack of width down their left as Newcastle used well last week.

Liverpool, safe enough to say have established a SYSTEM of a possession-orientated 4-3-3, but with debuts for Suso, Sahin and Andre Wisdom in the side. The frontline of Suso, Suarez and Sterling certainly spells goals, but the more interesting partnership to watch is the Gerrard-Sahin one, as an energetic Norwich midfield is unlikely to give them any quarter. But one thing's for sure: Liverpool's strength: Quality in possession. Liverpool's weakness: Defense on the flanks and late errors.

Tactical Notes:

• Liverpool's new front three encouraging their midfielders to make direct runs, Norwich defend well but fall prey to Liverpool's pressing high up the pitch

There were two things surprising about Suarez's early goal. Firstly, with Norwich's midfield pressing the best they can and forcing Liverpool to go down the flanks, they were uncharacteristically carved open by being beaten to the second ball.

It was also interesting to note that while Sterling and and Suarez dropped deep to receive from midfield against Man United, this game all three forwards were linking up play, which opened up space for Sahin and Gerrard to make direct runs INTO the box, as Gerrard and Shelvey in previous games usually only hovered at the edge of it due to the permanent residence of Fabio Borini. Sahin's run drew the space for Suarez to run into for his goal, while Gerrard's run forced a good save out of John Ruddy.

In transition, Norwich's best opportunities came on the counter, when Norwich's midfield got past Liverpool's midfield and had a run at their defenders. Norwich were very reluctant to use their wide-players as Liverpool's three forward constantly closed Norwich's fullbacks down in Norwich's half, forcing them to make wayward passes. Suarez's second goal was a vindication of their pressing, robbing Turner before beating Ruddy.

• Norwich profit from Liverpool's lack of wingers, Liverpool make use of Norwich's midfield pressing

While tactically Norwich didn't make many changes besides Hoolahan for Surman, Liverpool also made like for like changes as both sides capitalised on mentality errors more than tactical brilliance. Liverpool's third came from a typical pacy counterattack combined with slack marking, Suarez won his individual battle against Ruddy and Russell Martin for his third goal, while Morison's goal can be credited equally to his reaction time as well as Liverpool's slack marking on Russell Martin and Morison himself.

Gerrard's goal was hardly imaginative either as he profited from Norwich's midfield not being there, being outnumbered high up the pitch. Holt's goal was also a product of instinctive finishing and probably the sun in Martin Skrtel's eyes, as both sides played the same play for 90 minutes throughout, but Liverpool just made less errors really. 

Fantasy Implications: 

One thing we know about Chris Hughton's men: Their midfielders press hard, and their defenders back off. While it's obvious as daylight that the Norwich defense is a no-no, I'm going to recommend someone from outside these two teams, and knowing that Norwich play Chelsea next, expect the likes of Hazard and Mata to shine, at least in the next game. Liverpool didn't exactly cover themselves in glory either, and while Suarez will generate some interest in the coming weeks, I will be looking at Sahin and Gerrard as my potential buys, but only if Suso and Sterling play alongside Suarez up front.