Centre-back pairing the key to Manchester City's swift Premier League turnaround

"Form is temporary, class is permanent" is one of sport’s most overused cliches but it is completely relevant when discussing Manchester City's season and the renaissance of John Stones.

City’s title claims were hanging by a thread as they failed to win five of their opening eight Premier League games and they found themselves eight points off the pace following November’s 2-0 loss at then table-toppers Tottenham.

With a 5-2 crumbling against Leicester at the Etihad also on their copybook, doubts were cast on Pep Guardiola, and a lack of firepower was blamed for the title favourites’ early-season struggles.

The injury setbacks to Sergio Aguero, who has hit home 180 Premier League goals from just 268 club appearances, and assist-king Kevin De Bruyne would nullify the threat carried by any attacking unit in world football.

But fast-forward three months and City are topping the Premier League charts, with the missing piece of the jigsaw not in attack, but instead in the heart of their defence.

One goal can be enough to win you any game of football providing the right defensive foundations are there and City have certainly struck that perfect balance.

City’s resurgence has coincided with the return to form of England’s forgotten-man Stones and his new centre-back partnership with Portuguese international Ruben Dias, who is influencing his teammates in a similar way to Virgil Van Dijk at Liverpool.

In the style of true champions, City have soared to the Premier League summit with maximum points collected from their last nine fixtures and the rock-solid Stones has been central to those improvements.

The Citizens leaked 11 goals during their opening eight games but they have shipped only twice in 13 league outings since, keeping 11 clean sheets in the process.

With Stones and Dias united at centre-back, City have played 13 times across all competitions, winning 12 of those matches - the goalless draw against their fierce rivals at Old Trafford being the only exception.

That is a win percentage of just over 92 per cent, which drops drastically to 65 per cent when those two are not teaming up in the heart of Guardiola’s defence.

City made it nine wins on the spin with Wednesday’s 2-0 triumph at Turf Moor and they have shipped only once during that spell of dominance. That goal came in the 3-1 victory over Chelsea, who netted a 92nd-minute consolation, when Zack Steffen had replaced the sidelined Ederson in net.

Six of Manchester City’s last nine league victories have finished either 1-0 or 2-0, which goes some way to highlight the importance of their new-found defensive discipline.

And there is certainly no fluke about the new steely nature of the Citizens, who have conceded just once in 1,393 minutes with Stones on the pitch and are restricting the opposition to very few clear-cut opportunities.

According to FBref.com, City’s expected goals allowed (xGA) has not surpassed 0.8 in any of the last seven league matches that Stones and Dias have played together at centre-back.

In the 11 league outings Stones and Dias have started alongside each other, the xGA adds up to just 5.1. The xGA for City’s first three games of this season against Wolves, Leicester and Leeds surpassed that figure, totalling at 5.3, and it had hit 9.9 after their opening ten fixtures.

The headline signing of Dias from Benfica has evidently played a key part in the process - the performances of Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo should be noted too - but Stones’ transformation has been truly remarkable.

The 26-year-old fell down Manchester City’s pecking order last season, starting just 16 games in all competitions and looked almost certain to exit the Etihad following Dias’s summer arrival.

But an injury-free run and a positive mindset on and off the field has allowed Stones to shine, with his excellent performances keeping Frenchman Aymeric Laporte out of the side.

Stones had also fallen out of favour with Gareth Southgate at England, but his resurgence with the Premier League leaders surely makes his Three Lions return an imminent one.

Stones had been 7-4 with bet365 for a place in the Euro 2020 squad in early December but those quotes are now closer to the 1-4 mark with City heavily odds-on in their pursuit of the title.

Recent shutouts of Brighton, Sheffield United, West Brom and Burnley are all well and good but City’s revamped rearguard will be truly tested against world-class attackers in Sunday’s title clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

Not got a bet365 account? Sign up today and get up to £100 in bet credits

Up to £100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport