Pep Guardiola trialled innovative formation vs West Ham to solve Man City's left-back problem

In the week where Manchester City saw their left-back target join Chelsea and Joao Cancelo exposed by Liverpool, Pep Guardiola found an innovative solution to the pressure building on the left-back position at West Ham: not to use one.

City decided they wouldn't pay Brighton's asking price for Marc Cucurella - which was an understandable stance when he joined Chelsea for £55m, rising to £62m - but that has left them worryingly light on full-backs with less than a month of the transfer window remaining and on the eve of a new Premier League season.

It was expected that Cancelo would start at left-back at West Ham, then, with Kyle Walker on the right, although the way they played was far less predictable - proving Pep Guardiola is ready to innovate and keep the Premier League guessing for a seventh season.

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From the start, both Cancelo and Kyle Walker tucked inside wherever possible, effectively acting as a double pivot, in stark contrast to their touchline-hugging roles vs Liverpool last week. That was necessary due to Liverpool's focus on their wingers, although West Ham operate differently and like their forwards to come inside and crowd the centre.

So in response, City asked their full-backs to come inside, both acting as defensive midfielders when the Blues had possession, with Rodri dropping back in between Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake wherever possible - although the centre-backs were often left as a back two as City had 84 per cent possession in the first half.

The words 'double-pivot' are often taboo among City fans in recent years after forgettable experiences of seeing Fernandinho, Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan try to play in different combinations of holding midfield pairs