3 short-term solutions for Manchester City's disoriented defence

Manchester City won ugly at Burnley in Saturday's early kick-off after Sergio Aguero finished two efforts from around three yards to override Dean Marney's 14th-minute wallop from distance.

It was unconvincing from City. Pep Guardiola's side had indecision and untidiness from the host to thank for Aguero's winner, and his defence looked disorganised and therefore entirely susceptible - just as it did at Crystal Palace the previous weekend.

Related: Aguero double seals City fightback in Burnley

Reports that Guardiola will be granted the funds to address his backline in the January transfer window is no great surprise, but it isn't simply down to the unfortunate Vincent Kompany's injury woes.

Within minutes of the weekend's curtain-raiser, Nicolas Otamendi had bundled over Jeff Hendrick in the area and was lucky to not concede a penalty to the home side. His propensity to go to ground during challenges and sometimes switch off make him far from the quintessential Guardiola centre-back.

And the fact that no central defender was named among the substitutes at Turf Moor - with right-back Pablo Zabaleta representing the only natural in a back four on the bench - suggested that young talents Tosin Adarabioyo and Cameron Humphreys are still some way short of senior consideration.

Guardiola needs a stop-gap solution over the seven competitive outings plugged into December, so here are three potential short-term measures:

Drag back a midfielder

Yaya Toure has been put back into the fray in an advanced role rather than the deeper one he played under Manuel Pellegrini. It means the Ivorian's legginess won't be exposed by the opposition's attacking midfielders, and he can instead barge and poke through balls higher up the pitch.

Don't discount Toure being shunted into the backline, though. When Guardiola won his first Champions League title when in charge of Barcelona in 2009, Toure manned the centre-back positions with Gerard Pique, and when his incredible strength was paired with greater discipline he was a formidable force there.

Now that Toure is back in contention, he could just be one injury or loss of form to a teammate away from being asked to fulfill this role once again.

Assign someone as a sweeper

When Guardiola took the helm, it didn't take him long to identify Fernandinho as the fulcrum of his XI.

While we have yet to see the Brazilian collect all 10 positions that his Spanish boss deemed him capable of, his versatility has seen him slide through roles in the centre. But maybe it will make sense to field him in the most withdrawn spot.

When Otamendi is partnered with John Stones, they seem at a loss for what their exact jobs are. Who is tasked with dropping deep into space and picking out the predominantly simple passes? Who's given license to surge forward and play more expansive balls?

To avoid this confusion, Fernandinho could do the former. It's a task Guardiola is accustomed to from his playing days:

When using a back three, Fernandinho could be in the middle, seldom moving forward, while Stones and Otamendi have more freedom to express themselves.

This would also mean Aleksandar Kolarov is less seen as a centre-back. He's an auxiliary there after all, and his usage there lessens his potency when crossing from the left.

Have some continuity

Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister. Tony Adams and Martin Keown. John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

The greatest defensive partnerships of the Premier League era have thrived due to the familiarity that has blossomed between the centre-halves. Barring injury, they would line up alongside one another each week.

Even City's roller-coaster ride before and since the takeover from Sheikh Mansour had its dead-set partnerships: once notably through the somewhat contrasting attributes of Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin.

If Guardiola manages to decide on whether he goes for a back four or back three, and then figures out his preferred personnel, he has to stick with it.

Otamendi and Stones have only managed three consecutive league matches alongside each other in a back four so far.