Football Manager 2020: Manchester City Team Guide – Tactics, formations, transfer targets & more

The Premier League’s defending champions have become a true powerhouse ever since the ownership takeover in 2008.

With huge financial backing they have become an annual contender for the Premier League title, and have their first Champions League triumph squarely in their sights every year too.

Under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, they have become nearly unbeatable. At least until Liverpool turned into a monster this year.

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Football Manager 2020 gives you a chance to take the reins at the Etihad Stadium and lead the club into the upper echelons of world football. Can you do it?

Club vision

This new feature has been a big success in FM20. It is both a short-term and long-term set of goals for the club under your direction, as laid out by the board.

It includes play style aims, financial targets, and competition results, with increasing expectations over each year of your tenure.

The expectations at Man City are understandably high.

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Not only are you expected to play attacking and possession football, but your required targets for your first season in charge are to win the Premier League and make the final of the Champions League.

After that, it is simply to continue to rake in the silverware. Easy, right?

Tactical style & formation

Attacking, possession football and a squad built by Pep Guardiola lends itself to playing tiki-taka or vertical tiki-taka. The latter is usually preferable as it aids playing quick-break football and exploiting pace – something Man City have in spades.

The 4-1-4-1 DM Wide plays to a lot of Man City’s strengths, but so will the 4-2-3-1 Wide. Given you have three available tactics slots you should prepare both.

Your starting XI will be Ederson in goal, with a back four of Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, and Benjamin Mendy.

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Rodri will play the DM in your 4-1-4-1 and partner David Silva at MC in your 4-2-3-1. Kevin De Bruyne will play MC in the first formation, and AMC in the second.

Bernardo Silva should be wide on the right, with Raheem Sterling on the opposite flank, and of course Sergio Aguero is up front.

On the bench you’ll want Claudio Bravo, Nicolas Otamendi, Kyle Walker, Fernandinho, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, and Gabriel Jesus.

Be sure to rotate regularly though, as even those that don’t make your bench have a lot of quality.

Best players

Man City have a whole squad of quality footballers that could happily start for 98% of other teams. It will make for some selection headaches, but regularly rotating your midfield and forwards should stop any player from becoming too upset.

As you can see, all of Man City’s best players are attack-minded. This plays into your possession & attacking tactics perfectly. Such incredible depth means you should be able to over-power opponents and score goals for fun.

Young talent

City don’t only have an eye on the present though. They also have a number of quality youngsters that could break into your first team one day. These are the best prospects the club has under the age of 20.

Phil Foden – CA 2.5 star (140), PA 4 star (175)

Already in your first-team, Phil Foden should be claiming cup starts and solid minutes against lesser Premier League opposition immediately.

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The young Englishman already has 17 technique, 16 passing, and 16 vision. You don’t want to think about life after KDB, but Foden should be well-placed to take over at some point.

Morgan Rogers – CA 1.5 (100), PA 4 star (140-170)

Just 16 years old but full of potential, the young striker still has a long way to go before he’ll be ready to replace Aguero, but you should keep an eye on his development.

With 19 determination, 15 acceleration, and 15 flair he has the talent to do well, and a PA range of 140-170 means he can become a strong Premier League striker if he pans out well.

Felix Correia – CA 1.5 star (100), PA 3 star (140-170)

Currently on loan at AZ, the Portuguese teenager has a bright future. A natural wide on the right or at attacking central midfield he can be a useful piece to your attacking lineup if he develops fully.

With 16 flair, 15 dribbling, and 15 acceleration he is already good on the ball and creative, though his passing (9) will need a lot of work to fit in with the rest of your team.

Transfer targets

Starting transfer budget: £44 million

Remaining wage budget: £400,000 a week

There aren’t exactly many weaknesses to the Man City squad. However, a few of their stars are starting to hit the age of decline. Fernandinho is 34 and David Silva is 33, while Sergio Aguero is 31.

All of these players will need replacing sooner rather than later, though your £44 million may not be enough to replace these guys immediately.

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While Phil Foden can take up some of your midfield minutes, the priority should be finding another central midfielder that can replace either the creativity of Silva or the energy of Fernandinho.

Lucas Torreira is a perfect target. With 18 teamwork, 17 positioning, and 17 work rate he runs for days and is always where you need him, while his 15 tackling and 14 passing means he can break up play and move the ball well.

He won’t come cheap and you will need to play around with additional fees and clauses, but the 23-year-old is the perfect long-term option for Man City.

Alternative options

Future transfers

Given their incredibly strong financial situation, your future transfer budgets will be in the £200+ million range. This opens all sorts of doors to the best talent in the world.

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Replacing Sergio Aguero suddenly becomes easy as Harry Kane and even Kylian Mbappe are possibilities.

Meanwhile bringing in an elite left-back like Alex Grimaldo and more centre-back depth in the shape of Milan Skriniar or Niklas Sule is also viable.

Contracts

Man City aren’t tight against their wage budget, so you shouldn’t have any problem retaining players. The question is which ones do you want to hang on to.

Both Scott Carson and Claudio Bravo are out of contract at the end of the 2019/20 season, which means either you will need to sign another backup goalie or trust a youngster to step up should Ederson miss time.

The old duo of Fernandinho and David Silva also have expiring contracts. Given their age they should be let go, especially if you follow our advice and sign a new midfielder.

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The end of the 20/21 season will be trickier. Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane will both be out of contract at that point. Sane is a no-brainer to hold on to given his age and ability, but Aguero is trickier.

As a club icon he will be tough to let go, but his age may demand that you do.

Unstoppable on the continent

Man City have won back-to-back Premier League titles prior to your arrival, so how do you stand out? Win in Europe.

The club’s only victory on the continent is the minor Cup Winners Cup in 1970, so finally bringing home the Champions League will be the best way to make your mark with the club and to buy you some time should things in the Premier League not turn out well.

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Competition domestically is fierce, with Liverpool and Man United your most likely rivals. Using your financial might to continue building the squad around the likes of Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, and Aymeric Laporte is the surest way of fending off the other teams as they years roll on.

Full Man City player ratings