Pep Guardiola will soon discover whether Man City squad approach is sustainable

Manchester City won the Treble with one of the smallest squads in European football, a feat that should not be quickly overlooked.

Part of his success in managing such a tightly-knit team has been the malleability of a number of players. John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis are just four examples of the versatile assets at his disposal.

Guardiola has built an ethos of keeping players in his side who are doing well. It eradicates any room for sulking given the mantra is if you play well you keep your place. It keeps those on the sidelines chomping at the bit for their moment to show they deserve to be in the team.

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It has also led to certain players keeping their levels of performance so high that they are essentially undroppable. Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland are three within this category.

For the rest, injuries provide an opportunity for others to step up - but then having such a small cohort means each setback is significant. When several come at once, Guardiola sees his squad stretched.

In the past he has been able to cope thanks to the versatile nature of his players. Eventually he finds a system. Last term, with Joao Cancelo leaving in January, he adopted a 3-2-4-1 formation that carried his team to three trophies.

There were initial teething problems with Bernardo Silva playing wing-back at one point and a draw with Nottingham Forest being a low ebb. But the tide soon turned with Stones growing into a remarkable centre-back-cum-midfielder.

Most players stayed fit during the crucial run-in, with all players available