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MANCHESTER, England -- During Manchester Citys offseason of heavy spending, Pep Guardiola prioritized improving his midfield and wide areas rather than upgrading the teams defensive unit.John Stones, an upcoming center back with lots of potential but still much to learn, was the only defender to arrive at Etihad Stadium ahead of the new season despite Citys aging collection of full backs and the worrying state of his central defense.Guardiola might be regretting it now.Undermined by a porous back line that has kept only two clean sheets in 15 games, City is stuttering as it tries to keep pace with Chelsea near the halfway stage of the Premier League campaign.City is in fourth place -- seven points behind Chelsea -- after winning three of its last nine league games, and four of its last 14 games in all competitions. On Saturday, Guardiolas team conceded two goals in the first four minutes and was beaten 4-2 by previously out-of-form Leicester.The 10-match winning run to open the season seems a distant memory now for City. But even during that period, when Guardiola was being widely hailed for his apparently seamless transition to the English game, concerns were being raised about the teams defense and what the coach was asking of it.Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov are Citys full backs. They are all in their 30s and have been given new tasks under Guardiola, such as playing as center backs in a back three or tucking into central midfield when City attacks to free up space for wingers and be in good positions for an opposition counterattack.Meanwhile, center backs Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and -- when fit -- Vincent Kompany are being asked to bring the ball out from the back and start attacks. They are playing in front of a ball-playing goalkeeper, Claudio Bravo, who rarely kicks it long and often takes risks with his passing and build-up play.It seems like Guardiola hasnt got the defenders to carry out what he wants. The defense is looking exposed and error-prone, and City is conceding sloppy goals that are overshadowing the teams attractive passing game. Guardiola frequently changes from a four-man defense to three at the back, which doesnt appear to be helping, either.Always I try to control the games so that we concede few goals, Guardiola said in reference to his time in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who mostly had strong defensive records. Here I cannot do that and I have to analyze why.After the loss to Leicester, Guardiola appeared to dismiss the importance of tackling -- Whats tackles? he said, ... we are not going to win or lose for the tackles -- and suggested he would continue playing the same style.Of course here in the Premier League, there are some special things but the pitch is the same, its 11 vs. 11, so I have to control the little differences between the other leagues. But (my) idea, I think, is good; it will be good.Not helping Citys defense is the fact that when its breached, Bravo isnt proving as able a shot-stopper as the goalkeeper he replaced, Joe Hart. Bravo doesnt have an imposing presence when strikers bear down on goal and was easily beaten by low shots in the 3-1 loss to Chelsea and the loss to Leicester.Next up for City is Watford at home on Wednesday, part of a full round of midweek matches in the Premier League. Who knows what the make-up of Citys defense will be, and whether Guardiola will play with three defenders or four? At least he has Otamendi back from suspension.---SUNDERLAND vs. CHELSEAProtecting a three-point lead, Chelsea will be looking for a 10th straight win in the match between first and last in the league.Its the fifth time that Chelsea has won at least nine straight Premier League games. Five more wins and the leaders will match the Premier League record of consecutive wins, held by Arsenal from 2002.---CRYSTAL PALACE vs. MANCHESTER UNITEDJust when Henrikh Mkhitaryan was looking like a sure starter at United after a slow start at Old Trafford, the playmaker got injured and will have to fight for his place again.Mkhitaryan scored in Uniteds 1-0 win at Tottenham, but hurt his ankle late in the match and was carried off on a stretcher. He is expected to be out for about two weeks.Nike Air Max 180 . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Nike Air Max Flair Bianche . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. http://www.nikeoffwhite.it/nike-air-max-98.html . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Nike Off White Air Force 1 .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Nike Air Max 90 Off White . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.BATTLE OF THE FORWARDS IN NRL PRELIMINARY FINALSCRONULLA VS NORTH QUEENSLANDNorth Queenslands forwards are an average of five kilograms bigger than their Cronulla opponents, and they know it. Theyre no fuss, no frills, but they get the job done. Theyve out-run their Sharks opponents by 43 metres per game this season, despite taking eight less runs than them per match.Relying on sheer power, they bend the oppositions defensive line with brute strength, making on average 9.62 metres per run. Both Scott Bolton and Matt Scott average exactly 10 metres per run, while wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo has gone at 10.9 per metres per carry, busting through 78 would-be tacklers along the way.In comparison, Cronullas forwards offer plenty for their team close to the line. Theyve produced 197 offloads this year, 108 more than their Cowboys opponents. They also have the ability to break the line open, busting through an average of 13.65 tackles per match, four more than the North Queensland big men.KEY STAT LEADERS:Metres per game: 169 - Jason Taumalolo (NQ)Runs per game: 22.1 Paul Gallen (CRO)Metres per run: 10.9 - Jason Taumalolo (NQ)Tackles per game: 33.4 - Michael Ennis (CRO)Offloads: 63 - Andrew Fifita (CRO)Tackle busts - 87 - Andrew Fifita (CRO)PACK VS PACK - AVERAGE MATCH STATS:Metres: CRO 862 - NQ 905Runs: CRO 103 - NQ 94Metres per run: CRO 8.38 - NQ 9.62Offloads: CRO 10 - NQ 4Tackle busts: CRO 14 - NQ 9Tackles: CRO 218 - NQ 220Average size (kg): CRO 101 - NQ 106MELBOURNE V CANBERRAA Canberra forward onslaught awaits Melbourne in Saturday nights preliminary final at AAMI Park.While both packs makke near-identical number of metres, the Raiders have broken some 60-more tackles than their Storm opposition this season.dddddddddddd. Queensland enforcer Josh Papalli leads the way with 51 tackle busts but its Ricky Stuarts bench that will have Craig Bellamy worried. Joseph Tapine makes more than 10 metres a run, while Paul Vaughan contributes a team-high 118m per match.For the Storm, prop Jesse Bromwich is a cut above the rest. The New Zealand international makes more runs (14.7) and metres per game (139) than any other forward in the team, to go with 43 offloads and 41 tackles busts for the year. Fellow Kiwi Tohu Harris looms as a danger on the fringe, having scored eight tries in 2016.In the battle of the hookers, English import Josh Hodgson has set up 17 tries, the same number as halves Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer combined.Cameron Smith isnt far behind with 15 try assists but the Raiders will need to be wary of the Storm skippers boot. Smith tops the NRL for 40/20s, with five.KEY STAT LEADERS:Metres per game: 139 - Jesse Bromwich (MEL)Runs per game: 14.7 - Jesse Bromwich (MEL)Tackles per game: 38.1 - Cameron Smith (MEL)Offloads: 43 - Jesse Bromwich (MEL)Tackle busts: 51 - Josh Papalii (CAN)PACK VS PACK - AVERAGE MATCH STATS:Metres: MEL 822 - CAN 826Runs: MEL 91 - CAN 90Metres per run: MEL9.03 - CAN - 9.18Tackles: MEL 239 - CAN 220Offloads: MEL 134 - CAN 116Tackle busts: MEL 215 - CAN 280Average size (kg): MEL 105 - CAN 103* Stats courtesy Fox Sports Stats ' ' '