Pep Guardiola decision can send John Stones back to bromance or rekindle old Man City flame

As the dust settles on Manchester City's dramatic 3-2 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend, attention has turned to making sense of the unusual shambles that was City's defence.

While Harry Kane & co. clearly played very well, the three goals they scored from seven touches inside City's box were partly enabled by the series of mistakes from Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte and Kyle Walker.

The heart of City's defense looked particularly vulnerable, prompting calls for Pep Guardiola to reinstate John Stones.

Stones is a well-liked figure among City fans, but his return would necessitate one of Dias or Laporte dropping out of the side. So, what is City's best centre-back partnership that includes Stones?

Stones & Dias

While there is no definitive data to back this up, it seems clear that most City supporters would like to see the return of the Stones-Dias partnership.

The duo formed a close on and off-field bond last season, forging a defensive understanding that inspired a 21-game winning streak en route to Premier League and Carabao Cup glory.

There is undoubtedly a nice balance to City's defence when the two play together. Stones is one of the best ball-playing centre-backs around, a quality that is crucial in Guardiola's side building attacks from the back and progressing the ball up the pitch.

Dias, while good on the ball, is no Stones or Laporte, but he makes up for this by being the best of the three when it comes to 'traditional' defending.

Since joining City in September 2020 the Portugal international has earned a reputation for no-nonsense, body on the line defending, while his leadership qualities are among the best in the squad.

However, bringing Stones into the team alongside Dias would mean that the