Two strikers becoming fashionable again in the Premier League

Playing two strikers is steadily becoming popular again in the Premier League.

Strike partnerships have been passe in the Premier league for quite a while. However, thanks to the rise in teams playing three at the back, having two strikers up front is becoming fashionable again.

Manchester City are leading the charge to make the strike partnership chic again. Manager Pep Guardiola isn’t afraid to go three at the back so he can partner Gabriel Jesus with Sergio Aguero in attack.

The pair combined for three goals in City’s 5-0 demolition of 10-man Liverpool on Saturday. It was the first time the rather uneasy partnership of two strikers similar in style actually looked like it might work for the long haul.

The moment when Aguero teed up Gabriel when clean through on goal felt like a watershed moment for this burgeoning double act. It’s significance was clear: Aguero, usually a me, myself and I striker, wanted to gift a goal to his partner.

It’s how things are supposed to work when a team takes the risk to deploy a dynamic duo up top. Make no mistake, Guardiola’s ploy to start with two up front, which he’s done for three of City’s four league games, is a risk.

The striking double act fell out of fashion in Premier League circles around the early- to mid-2000s. Manchester United started the trend in ’02 when Sir Alex Ferguson opted to ditch prolific pair Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole in favor of lone frontman Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But it wasn’t until Jose Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in 2004 when the single-striker setup gained in popularity. Mourinho, always a paragon of pragmatism, loved to have one worker bee target man lead the line for a formation able to switch between 4-3-3 in possession and 4-5-1 out of it.

Didier Drogba became the archetypal lone striker for the modern era.

As England’s top flight became more cosmopolitan, thanks in no small part to the mass influx of foreign players and coaches, teams playing 4-4-2 didn’t want to risk being overrun by a five-man midfield in central areas. So one striker made way for an extra man in the middle.

The trend even continued last season, despite the rise of the 3-4-3, pioneered by eventual champions Chelsea. Antonio Conte had Diego Costa work a lone brief through the middle, while wingers Eden Hazard and Pedro flanked him.

Most of the league has since copied Conte and Chelsea’s formula. Yet some of those warming to the three-man defense have realized the depleted back line affords them the option of a second striker.

Guardiola has taken the idea and run with it so far this season. The results justify this welcome bold approach, per Sky Sports Statto:

But City aren’t the only ones ready to revive the two-pronged attack.

Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday saw Danny Welbeck and Alexandre Lacazette both get on the scoresheet.

Like Aguero and Jesus, the two also combined for a goal, Arsenal’s second, when Welbeck laid the ball off for Lacazette to curl in from the edge of the box.

What was telling was how close the two played together. Usually, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger likes to play one man through the middle and have him flanked by players who maintain width.

Against the Cherries, however, Welbeck played much closer to Lacazette, with the two having the run of the middle. Meanwhile, Mesut Ozil operated in a floating role behind the pair, much like Kevin De Bruyne is doing behind Aguero and Gabriel for City.

It was significant when Arsenal made their substitutions, both Welbeck and Lacazette made way for Olivier Giroud and contract rebel Alexis Sanchez. The latter pair also played together, while Ozil remained central rather than moving out wide.

Where teams used to rely on the fluidity of a front three, with players such as Hazard and Costa often exchanging positions, those playing two strikers see their rotations deeper.

Now different players rotate to take turns as the No. 10 behind the strikers. For Arsenal, Ozil dropped deep to free Aaron Ramsey to move into the pockets of space off the front.

Similarly, De Bruyne has more license to roam deeper this season, affording David Silva the chance to take his pace further forward.

Of course, a team playing two up top can also ask one of its frontmen to drop off and help restore a numbers advantage in midfield when out of possession. Leicester did the same with Shinji Okazaki, ostensible strike partner for Jamie Vardy, when the won the Foxes title playing 4-4-2 in 2015-16.

Being flexible enough to still crowd midfield when off the ball is a major factor for teams deciding whether to play two up front. Yet those willing to risk it can find rewards.

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City are looking every bit the genuine title contenders they are billed as, thanks largely to their two strikers. Liverpool should have won the league in 2013-14, when then-manager Brendan Rodgers turned Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge loose in a 4-4-2 diamond.

Teams can still be tactically adept and win while thinning midfield to get another striker on the pitch. Managers brave enough to stick with it this season are not only increasing their chances of lifting silverware. They are also reviving a fondly remembered staple of the Premier League.