Has Pep Guardiola discovered Manchester City’s best centre-back pairing for next season and beyond? | OneFootball

At halftime of Manchester City’s 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final win over Bournemouth Pep Guardiola made a substitution that may have unlocked Manchester City’s best centre-back pairing. Nico O’Reilly came on for Abdukodir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol went from left-back to centre-back. O’Reilly’s introduction changed that game as Pep Guardiola’s side went on to book a seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final appearance. From that point on Gvardiol has partnered Ruben Dias in the heart of City’s defence.

Watching City play in their past three matches after their win at the Vitality Stadium, they have looked like a much more solid and stable team. Their midfield has looked stronger as Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Nico have made their presence felt. But at the back, Pep Guardiola’s side has looked a lot more solid. Outside of the opening half-hour of their 5-2 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday Pep Guardiola’s side contained the threat of Oliver Glasner’s side. The impact of Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias cannot be underplayed in this regard.

The games of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol complement each other. With Dias playing as the right-sided centre-back he can play to his limitations in possession. That’s generally where he plays his best. With Josko Gvardiol playing as the left-sided centre-back, his ability on the ball does help City’s build-up play. Defensively, both players are exceptional either in their ability to make a challenge or in the air. We saw that from both during Manchester City’s drab nil-all draw with Manchester United. There were also moments of this against Crystal Palace on Saturday. But they do appear to be developing an understanding and look to have all of the traits needed to become Manchester City’s best centre-back pairing.

Injuries may have led Pep Guardiola to pair Dias and Gvardiol together, but it does look to be a combination worth sticking with.

This season the Manchester City defence has been ravaged by injury. Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake have all missed time due to injury. In the case of Stones, Ake and Akanji they remain out due to injury. Pep Guardiola does have Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov who can play at centre-back. But both players are young and appear set for big roles at Manchester City in the future.

But the silver lining in Manchester City’s injury situation is it may have led Pep Guardiola to find Manchester City’s best centre-back pairing. Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias have all of the makings of a long-term partnership at the heart of City’s defence. Their games appear tailor-made to be playing alongside each other. In a season where injuries have ravaged Pep Guardiola’s squad there may be a silver lining to be found in a disappointing 24/25 campaign.