It’s increasingly looking like Manchester City have landed an absolute bargain when they signed Julian Alvarez.
Manchester City signed Julian Alvarez from River Plate in January and loaned him back. He arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer after his solid loan spell in Argentina and played very well during the first part of the 2022/23 campaign, scoring six goals in 19 outings across all competitions.
Alvarez, 22, has starred at the 2022 World Cup, helping Argentina advance to the final. The forward put in another superb display in Qatar on Tuesday, scoring twice and winning a penalty as Argentina eased past Croatia 3-0 to reach the final for the sixth time. With a brace against Croatia, he has four goals in six games for Lionel Scaloni’s side.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola should be ecstatic watching Alvarez’s performances at the World Cup as he needs a strong backup to Erling Haaland for the second half of the campaign. Haaland, regarded as arguably the top striker in world football, has been magnificent since arriving in the Premier League from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Before the Premier League season came to a halt, the Norwegian had hit 18 goals in 13 Premier League appearances. As Man City gear up for the gruelling next half of the season, here is their strongest XI involving both Alvarez and Haaland.
Strongest Man City XI with both Haaland and Alvarez (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Ederson is Man City’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper. He played just once for Brazil at the World Cup and is expected to return to the club next week.
Defence
Man City have had injuries and fitness problems in defence throughout the first part of the season, with players such as Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones missing games. However, they are all fit now and featured at the World Cup for their respective nations.
Walker is a certainty to start at right-back, with Joao Cancelo nailing down his place on the other side of the defence with eye-catching displays. In Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Laporte and Stones, Guardiola has a plethora of options in central defence, but he has preferred the pairing of Akanji and Ake this season due to a combination of form and injury problems.
Midfield
Rodri is one of the first names on Guardiola’s team sheet. The Spaniard helps City in dictating the tempo of play with his passing, reading of the game and ball-winning skills. He will operate at the base of City’s midfield, with Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva shouldering the creative responsibility for the team.
De Bruyne and Silva are two excellent midfielders blessed with a great engine, passing range, vision and footballing IQ.
Attack
With gifted technicians like De Bruyne and Silva in the team, it is obvious for a striker of Erling Haaland’s calibre and quality to bang in goals left, right and centre. Haaland has already made a mockery of many Premier League defences with his movement, speed, physicality and ruthless finishing. When fully fit and running, the Norwegian is a devastating force to contain for defenders.
Julian Alvarez’s confidence should be high once he returns from the World Cup, regardless of what happens in the final on Sunday. Since the 22-year-old came into Scaloni’s first XI after being named on the bench in Argentina’s first two group games, he has looked the real deal. And with four goals at the tournament Alvarez is in the running for the Golden Boot.
With Haaland going through the middle, Alvarez could operate on the left flank once he completely finds his feet in the Premier League. Phil Foden, as of now, remains the ideal candidate to start at right wing ahead of Riyad Mahrez.