Man City's attacking puzzle: How does Pep Guardiola find room for all his forwards behind Erling Haaland?

Whether he was coaching his sublime Barcelona, his relentless Bayern Munich or all his all-conquering City side, Guardiola has often felt that attack is the best form of defence. His early years as a coach saw him seek to dominate the midfield first and foremost, while he infamously remarked in his first season at the Etihad Stadium that he wished he could play with 11 midfielders.

But more recently, Guardiola has been embracing all-out attack. In the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, he deployed such a buccaneering team that Kevin De Bruyne had to operate as a holding midfielder in order to accommodate three players who would normally be considered wide forwards - Savinho, Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush - behind Erling Haaland. City lost at Wembley, although Guardiola stood by his tactics, claiming his side "didn't suffer" and created far more and far better chances, not to mention the controversial decision to not send Dean Henderson off.

Guardiola reverted to relatively 'normal' line-ups for City's final games of the Premier League season against Bournemouth and Fulham, both of which they won to seal a third-placed finish. But it was back to all-out attack for the Club World Cup opener against Wydad Casablanca, as an ostensibly 4-4-2 shape became 2-3-5 in possession, with Phil Foden sitting in holding midfield alongside Rico Lewis and Tijjani Reijnders, while Rayan Cherki, Doku, Marmoush and Savinho played in attack with support from marauding left-back Nico O'Reilly.

Guardiola opted for wholesale changes in personnel, as well as in formation, against Al Ain, going for a 3-1-4-2 shape that utilised Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri as wing-backs to great effect. Claudio Echeverri enjoyed an impressive first start alongside a fairly quiet Haaland, with Ilkay Gundogan able to get forward a lot and score twice.

Alongside Gundogan in attacking midfield was newly-named captain Bernardo Silva. Cherki and Oscar Bobb, meanwhile, each came off the bench to score in what was a rampant end to the game as City tried, in vain, to gain a superior goal tally on Juventus. Guardiola is likely to pick a hybrid of both XIs for the last group game against Juve, although Rodri could make his first start of the tournament after coming off the bench in both games.

Guardiola has been cautious with his midfield lynchpin as he eases him back into action after his knee operation last year, but it is clear that Rodri will be a regular starter at the base of midfield in most games next season, most likely with Reijnders alongside him operating in a box-to-box role, albeit with the emphasis on the opposing area.

With Haaland practically secure of his starting berth as centre-forward due to his prolific record and the fact he has recently signed a 10-year contract with the club, that leaves 10 players competing for the three other places in attack - and none of them can necessarily be assured of a starting berth given the wealth of alternatives available to the coach.

Bernardo struggled for much of last season as he lost his pace and power of old, but the fact he has been named captain would suggest Guardiola still plans to start him regularly. However, with it likely to be his last campaign at the club before his contract expires in 2026, it is possible that the Portugal international will occupy a similar role to De Bruyne last season, who started half of the Premier League games and came on as a substitute in seven.

Gundogan is likely to occupy a similar role if he gets his wish to stay for another year. The German can still produce against certain opponents and is the experienced and mature character City and Guardiola could do with having around, even if he will not be the first name on the team sheet.

Foden, however, should be looking to play as many games as possible to show he can recover from his recent wobble and rediscover the scoring touch which saw him score 27 goals two seasons ago on his way to being named PFA Player of the Year. Guardiola has a strong bond with Foden and is not about to give up on the player who he called 'the most talented player he had ever worked with', and nor should he.

Not only is Foden crucial to City holding on to some semblance of their roots in an era of globalisation, he remains a brilliant footballer when he puts his mind to it, able to simultaneously dictate the team's short passing game and help City dominate opponents while also being a source of many goals.

Marmoush should also be a regular starter in the crunch games at both the Club World Cup and looking ahead into next season. The Egyptian works best as a left forward rather than a No.9, and rather than being a replacement for Haaland when the Norwegian is injured, he should complement him. Indeed, Marmoush's best games, such as when he scored hat-trick against Newcastle and unleashed a rocket against Bournemouth, came when playing alongside the Norwegian rather than in Haaland's two-month absence.

Marmoush arrived into a team in crisis in the middle of last season and mananaged to end the campaign as City's joint-second top scorer. His form for Eintracht Frankfurt cannot be forgotten either, wher he provided 15 goals and nine assists in the first half of the campaign before joining City, meaning he ended the season with more goal involvements than Florian Wirtz. Marmoush's movement creates space for others, but above all he carries a serious goal threat, which is something that cannot be said of his fellow wide forwards Savinho and Doku.

Savinho made a strong start to life at City, but his performances throughout the campaign followed a familiar pattern. His trickery and movement would open up defences and get the Etihad crowd on their feet, only for his shot or final pass to be lacking. The Brazilian was ranked the most wasteful forward in the Premier League last season, scoring just once despite having an expected goal (xG) tally of five. Savinho was City's top assist-provider, but his rivals in the team are able to both score and set up goals, meaning he should be one of the players to make way, at least from the starting line-up.

The 21-year-old will remain a lethal weapon to bring off the bench when some extra spark is needed and is a more than capable starter when Guardiola wants to rest others. It must also be remembered that Savinho only cost £21 million ($28m), so there is less institutional pressure to play him all the time.

Doku is in a similar category to Savinho. The Belgian can often frustrate as a starter and he has always been far from the most productive player, even when he was playing for Rennes in Ligue 1. But he is very dangerous off the bench, as he can tear into tired defences when a game is stretched.

Foden and Marmoush could play together in a variety of formations. One of the more intriguing options is for Guardiola to repeat the 3-1-4-2 he tried against Al Ain, with Nunes and Ait-Nouri as high-flying wing-backs. In this shape, Foden would join Reijnders in the attacking midfield two ahead of Rodri, with Marmoush joining Haaland up front.

The alternative vision is in a 4-2-3-1, with Marmoush as the left forward and Foden as the No.10, with Cherki on the right. The French maverick has the chutzpah as well as the talent to fill De Bruyne's shoes as City's chief playmaker and is equally content with creating chances for his team-mates as going for goal himself.

Echeverri, who scored a wonderful free-kick but looked a little raw against Al Ain, is another thrilling prospect to be able to bring off the bench and start the occasional game. The Argentine will also need a period to adapt to English football, and indeed European football, as his only real experience is in his homeland.

Then there is Bobb, who also struck against Al Ain and has the advantage over his team-mates of growing up within City's academy and thus knowing the club's style of play like the back of his hand. Bobb missed nearly all of last season after breaking his leg just before the campaign began and almost starts from zero again, so he will have to earn his place in the team.

Bobb, Echeverri and McAtee are the main candidates to go out on loan if Guardiola really wants to trim his squad down, but given the plethora of injuries City suffered last season and the fact that they begin the Premier League season barely a month after the Club World Cup final, Guardiola might want to re-think that ambition.

The coach admitted earlier this year that he made a mistake by putting too much trust in the players who had won the last four Premier League titles, a feeling that chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak also articulated. City have made up for lost time by reshaping their squad, and their business is not over yet as they look for reinforcements at right-back and potentially in goal.

Guardiola now has a squad overflowing with attacking talent. He is able to call upon experienced heads like Gundogan and Bernardo as well as hungry youngsters who are keen to make a name for themselves. The only downside is deciding who gets the nod for each game, but given all the problems City faced last season, it does not feel like too much of a drag.