To truly stay on top of football, you have to analyse a LOT.
One week ago, I was sure that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City would not compete for the Premier League.
Now, though, they can.
Why?
Because they have finally found a way - after 15-17 games, Pep has found a way.
I can answer this, atleast based on his Sporting side. His pivot always had two different profiles:
#8: Very good at pressing, covering loads of ground, and progressing the ball at a decent pace. Doesn’t have to be a great passer, but he needs to be able to carry & pass to better players. Basically a box-to-box.
#6: At first he had destroyers who would simply cover ground & break-up play (Palhinha & Ugarte) but as soon as he upgraded to Hjulmand, his system upgraded a lot. Hjulmand was a hybrid, he could break-up play & also dictate tempo.
With the current options for the #6 (Ugarte/Case) he’s kind of forced to change this dynamic. Now he uses the #8 (Bruno) as the one dictating tempo instead of the #6, because Ugarte/Case can’t do that, and because Bruno covers enough ground.
If we look at Mainoo’s profile, he simply can’t do what Bruno does in the pivot at the moment. Not in ground coverage, or dictating play. (Atleast in long range passing)
I might see potential in developing Mainoo as the #6 to play next to a real box-to-box (Not Bruno), instead of being the #8. Let him receive from deep, and progress the ball… But that means he would have to adapt his game to be more defensive minded.
It’s a tricky situation, but I understand why Mainoo isn’t playing. Just my perspective.