Manchester City have finally restored normality after comfortably defeating Nottingham Forest by three goals to nil on Wednesday evening.
After seven matches without a victory, it was only a matter of time before the tables turned at the Etihad for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was the lead catalyst in exploiting a strong Forest defence, registering a goal and assist in his first Premier League start back for The Blues in nine matches.
However, it wasn’t just victory for City, as previous title contenders Arsenal, managed to grasp all three points from our noisy neighbours Manchester United, scoring from two set pieces in a 2-0 victory.
Declan Rice’s title claim could give Man City confidence
Player of the match Declan Rice was prompted to speak on any title hopes for The Gunners after the game, telling Amazon Prime:
“People get carried away with the title race talk, you just need to be in and around it by February, it’s too early to be calling what is going on.”
According to Rice, time is of the essence amongst a title charge, which is familiar for The Citizens, going unbeaten during the 2023/24 season in 16 of the last 17 matches to snatch the title away from Mikel Arteta’s side.
Has the challenge for Pep been set too high this time around? City currently sit fourth in the Premier League table, with the chance for that position to be lowered if Brighton are to defeat Fulham via a two-goal deficit.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 2 |  ChelseaChelsea | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 15 | 16 | 28 |
| 3 |  ArsenalArsenal | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 26 |
| 5 |  BrightonBrighton | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
Nine points separate City and league leaders Liverpool with 24 matches still to play in the competition, with a vital Christmas period coming up.
The January transfer window could be massive for Man City’s Premier League hopes
It is no secret that City have been hindered by a plethora of injuries this season so far, the biggest miss being Ballon D’or winner Rodri.
Meanwhile, January raises an opportunity for Pep to bring in some fresh faces to strengthen the team. February is important according to Rice, and he might just be right.
The success for The Blues comes from squad depth, which has been thinned this year. Rumoured targets such as Spanish International Martin Zubimendi and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes could fix that hole in midfield, as well as former City academy star Jeremie Frimpong, adding stability.
With such a long season ahead, hopefully, City can stay injury-free, and by the new year, be back in contention for yet another record-breaking season.
