There is one thing Manchester City desperately need before their creative players can take over

There is one thing Manchester City desperately need before their creative players can take over Manchester City were comprehensively beaten by Nottingham Forest 3-1 at The City Ground yesterday. Enzo Maresca’s side were brushed aside both physically and in general play in the opening half-hour by Oliver Glasner’s side. City did fight back in the second half but by then, they had left themselves too much work to do. When Liam Delap scored in the 73rd minute, City were condemned to their third successive defeat in the Premier League. Looking at the City team sheet, they are blessed with a plethora of attacking talent. However, Enzo Maresca’s side lacks the security to properly profit from their abundance of creative and attacking riches. Also, the lack of midfield security is undermining almost every aspect of City’s play. Enzo Maresca has to find balance with his Manchester City lineup, especially in midfield. It isn’t a stretch to say that the starting lineup that Enzo Maresca selected against Nottingham Forest was far too unbalanced. As we have seen throughout this season, a midfield trio of Rayan Cherki, Enzo Fernandez and Elliot Anderson can be too easily bypassed. When you factor in two attacking inverting full-backs which was on display yesterday, a huge flaw in this Manchester City side is exposed. Oliver Glasner set up his team to get at this weakness at The City Ground. His team duly obliged and City came out of yesterday’s match with a litany of concerns. An obvious solution is for Enzo Maresca to find a proper midfield balance. The solution does seem simple. Despite Enzo Maresca’s insistence that Elliot Anderson is a number six, he does his best work alongside a proper number six, playing as an eight. That way he can cover the pitch and play to his strengths rather than be loose with his positioning. That isn’t a knock on Anderson at all. He has been superb for Manchester City this season. However, you do feel that he is being asked to do far too much in a new role for him. The City midfield solution seems to be obvious. Surely, it is time for Enzo Maresca to build his midfield around Ayyoub Bouaddi as the number six with Elliot Anderson in his preferred midfield role. Then one of Rayan Cherki, Enzo Fernandez and Phil Foden can play as the attacking midfielder. Manchester City need security to underpin their play. With a strong midfield base, it should provide exactly what this City side needs. Also, with a sturdy midfield installed, it should also allow Manchester City’s array of attacking talent to be unleashed properly. For me, that seems to be the simple solution to try and give this City side exactly what they sorely lack. The international break does give Enzo Maresca time to have a good look at what has gone wrong for his team. For this Manchester City side to unlock their capabilities, they clearly need to tighten up out of possession. A safer midfield system should provide the foundation for this. Right now, there are seemingly holes all over the place for Enzo Maresca to plug. Tightening up the midfield should be Enzo Maresca’s first priority over the international break. Also, the international break does give Enzo Maresca time to analyse everything that has gone wrong for his team of late. Manchester City’s matches have been far too open so far this season and they have been too easy to play through. The sum of City’s parts are out of sync at the moment. Maresca now has time to study what has gone wrong and make the correct adjustments. Right now, Enzo Maresca’s side aren’t getting full value out of the talent in their squad, whether that is at the back, in midfield or up front. Specifically, you do feel that the Manchester City attack will benefit from having a secure midfield behind them. As would every other aspect of Manchester City’s play. Enzo Maresca has many issues to work through over the international break. However, you do feel that if the City midfield is fortified, it may well begin to solve several issues that have arisen and were ruthlessly exposed by Nottingham Forest.