Three factors promise to decide the great battle Man City - Bayern

Taking over the mess at Stamford Bridge from Frank Lampard, Tuchel decided to make a landmark change to Chelsea's 2020-2021 season. The German coach switched from his predecessor's preferred 4-3-3 formation to a three-back system. Tuchel admitted this was a decision based on Chelsea's personnel at the time. This change helped Chelsea "makeover", finishing fourth in the Premier League and winning the Champions League for the second time.

At Bayern, Julian Nagelsmann regularly uses a 4-2-3-1 system and the club also has a team that is more qualified than Chelsea two seasons ago. Therefore, Tuchel did not change tactics when maintaining Nagelsmann's 4-2-3-1 formation in the first few matches in charge at the Allianz Stadium.

Most likely, the 49-year-old coach will keep this system when he is a guest at Etihad today. When holding the ball, Bayern played in a 4-3-3 formation with Joshua Kimmich playing the role of a playmaker deep in front of the four defenders, while his partner Leon Goretzka moved higher.

Tuchel's system is very flexible when attacking, and immediately changes when Bayern lose the ball. Like his time at Chelsea, Tuchel still wants Bayern to take the initiative, pressurize and try to win the ball back as close to goal as possible. Accordingly, "Gray Lobster" returned to the basic 4-2-3-1 formation when defending with Goretzka back to the level with Kimmich, while Thomas Muller returned to the role of No. 10 behind the striker.

However, it is not excluded that Tuchel surprised by changing Bayern's formation to a three-back formation to prioritize the defensive front. At that time, the three central defenders of the away team could be Dayot Upamecano, Matthijs De Ligt and Benjamin Pavard.

Although he has only been in power for more than two weeks, it is clear that Tuchel always arranges a high defense. The German coach wants to defend with a 4-2-3-1 formation, but when it comes to pressure in the bottom third, the system changes depending on the opponent.

For example, in the Der Klassiker match, Dortmund used Emre Can as the sole playmaker, but Jude Bellingham often retreated to the senior's side. When this happens, Goretzka will level with Muller one on one. Accordingly, Bayern's defensive scheme once again changed from 4-2-3-1 to 4-1-4-1.

Tuchel emphasized solidity in the midfield and forced opponents to rotate the ball to the wing. The reason is because defending on the flanks is much easier than in the middle, because the attacking team will have less passing angle because of the limitation of the touchlines.

To do that, striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting exerted pressure from one side, not allowing the opponent's central defender to pass to the partner, but to send the ball to the wing. Since then, Bayern continued to compete fiercely with a one-on-one strategy.

That day, Tuchel made his grand debut when Bayern crushed Dortmund 4-2. But the trip to Etihad today is a much more difficult task because the army under Guardiola is a master at escaping pressing and deploying the ball from the home field.

Every match, Man City always controls the ball more than the opponent and Bayern's plan is likely to not work. Guardiola's players feel more comfortable playing under pressure and in tight spaces against similar pressing schemes.

In fact, in the match Man City beat Liverpool 4-1 in the English Premier League on April 1, Jurgen Klopp asked his students to apply pressure in the way that Bayern is expected to deploy at the Etihad today. At that time, Liverpool's downline revealed many gaps when pressing failed and was the cause of their defeat. This could be a lesson for Tuchel to find the right approach to the game for Bayern.

Another notable tactical adjustment Tuchel made in his early games in charge of Bayern was how aggressive the full-backs were in front of the opponent's wingers. The German coach wants his players to apply pressure all over the pitch, not the bottom third. This means that full-backs must follow their respective attackers even when they are deep to receive the ball.

During the Der Klassiker game, Julian Brandt often dropped back to the home court to help develop the ball. At that time, Alphonso Davies always followed the opponent very closely despite revealing the space behind.

Of course, this style of play has the disadvantage that the Bayern defense often lacks people on the wing. Dortmund could not capitalize and punish the Bundesliga champions, but Man City are on a very different level.

The same scenario could happen today when Man City's wingers retreat to the home field to receive the ball to drag the opponent's full-back. At that time, the homeowner can use a long pass or poke a slot to let the central midfielders move into the space to receive the ball. At this time, the Bayern midfielder was forced to give up his position to foam for his teammates, which means that the area around the penalty area will be more open.

Since Guardiola took charge, Man City has always been very dangerous with situations where he ran to exploit such spaces. When analyzing Bayern's layout under Tuchel, the Spanish coach will know that this is probably the best way for Man City to find a way into the opponent's goal through two turns.