Can Manchester City Reclaim Their Dominance in the Premier League?

Things haven’t been going well for Manchester City recently. In fact, they’re facing a bit of an unknown under Pep Guardiola.

The wheels appear to have come off of the well-oiled machine in recent matches. The Cityzens are on a four-game losing streak, having last won a match on October 26, when they beat Southampton in the Premier League.

Poor Away Record

Since then, the team that has won the league four times on the spin can’t buy a win. They’ve lost two Premier League matches (away at Bournemouth and Brighton), a League Cup encounter against Tottenham, and a Champions League tie against Sporting.

If there is any saving grace from any of these defeats, it might be the fact that each of them were away from the Etihad Stadium. In fact, the last time they played at home was when they beat the Saints.

This current international break may just be the perfect time for the team to reset. For Guardiola, it will be a time to work out why his side has lost four on the bounce and how he can stop a rot that he hasn’t really experienced in his managerial career.

Man City being written off?

Given the quality of the club and their resilience in previous seasons, the poor run of form has been amplified. It’s got everyone talking, especially as it’s something that isn’t normal.

Everybody expects Man City to win each and every game that they play. A defeat is a surprise, even if it comes against a quality team. However, they have their work cut out for them if they are to go five-for-five in terms of league titles.

It even seems as if their poor run has sportsbooks considering their position regarding their chances at the title. Unibet, who offer the best odds for Premier League matches in Australia, has the Cityzens as the second favorites to win the competition, which isn’t something that is experienced all too often.

They have Guardiola’s side priced at 3.25 going into the festive period, behind Liverpool’s 2.25. Of course, Arne Slot’s side have had a perfect start under their new boss, which is perhaps why the bookies are favoring them at the moment.

Nonetheless, there is still plenty of football to be played, with the Christmas period often being a telling time in regard to how a club can finish the season.

Will Man City bounce back?

Although they’ve had to deal with injuries to key men and poor form by others, Man City simply can’t be written out of a title race until it’s mathematically possible to do so.

They’ve been counted out before and have proved to everyone that they have the ability to bounce back when they need to. The title race looked to be heading the way of Arsenal in the last two seasons, but Guardiola’s side managed to recover and take the prize when most didn’t expect them to.

Player injuries have been a big concern for the club so far. Rodri’s been a big miss, as has Rueben Dias in recent games. Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish are just other prime examples of the quality that has been missed so far.

Erling Haaland has been out of his usual form. At the same time, their decision to sell Julian Alvarez has arguably left a void that hasn’t been filled for when the Norwegian striker isn’t performing to his best.

All it will take for City is to see each of these return to the side and find form. Although easier said than done, they have the quality to be able to do that. If they can, then it’s easy to expect the 10-time Premier League champions to find their mojo and get back into winning ways with an element of dominance.

Have City left too much to do?

The only question that might be had is whether City have left too much to do. Admittedly, we’ve only played just a little under a third of the season. The club still has to play Liverpool twice, having already beaten Chelsea and tying with Arsenal earlier in the season.

The points gap ahead of the final international break is five. There is more than enough time for them to catch the Reds, should their title rivals slip up and they don’t.

Of course, there isn’t anything that can be guaranteed in football. As stated earlier, a lot is easier said than done, but until it’s mathematically impossible, never write off Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.

15.11.2024