Two players can solve Man City's main failing
At Aston Villa, City lost in part because they had no midfielders to play in midfield. John Stones and Manu Akanji tried to push up from centre-back, Rico Lewis got pulled out of position as a number eight, and Julian Alvarez couldn't decide whether to drop and add another body in the middle, or stay close to Erling Haaland. By the time Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes came on, Villa were well in the ascendancy.
But for the trip to Luton, those midfield issues rectify themselves as Rodri and Jack Grealish return from suspension. Rodri will walk back into the holding role, while Grealish can allow Bernardo Silva to play more in the pockets and closer to Alvarez. The balance of the midfield should be instantly better. With Grealish on the left, Foden can switch to the right, coming inside if Kyle Walker pushes up and adding another body in the centre.
Guardiola said on Friday it is his responsibility to find a solution to the midfield problem when Rodri is not there. He struggled to find that against Villa, but now has time to ease Stones back into full fitness and also hope for Kovacic and Nunes to get back to speed after injuries of their own. The next time Rodri is missing should be far less of an issue.
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For the millennial City fan, they won't have seen their side cross paths with Luton given the last time the two met was in 1999. Luton dropped out of the top flight before it became the Premier League, and have been to non-league and back since.
But those older City fans will remember Luton with a shudder, and be keen for the Blues to
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