Manchester City are really struggling at the moment – and a couple of statistics make for grim reading.
Pep Guardiola watched his side crash to yet another defeat on Saturday, as Tottenham Hotspur put the hosts to the sword at the Etihad Stadium.
Spurs lost to Ipswich Town the weekend before, and the Manchester City players went into the game having just learned Guardiola has extended his contract at City.
However, there was to be no response to recent poor results, and Spurs beat City comfortably in the end.
It’s now five defeats in a row for Guardiola, who has several issues to resolve at the moment. The defence and midfield are all over the place without Rodri, and there is also an overreliance on Erling Haaland to score the goals.
The defeat to Spurs was followed by Liverpool beating Southampton on Sunday, meaning the gap is now eight points – and a fifth straight league title is now already looking increasingly unlikely.
Man City only 23.3% likely to win the Premier League
Today on Sky Sports, the title race was discussed and it’s clear that Liverpool are favourites.
The Reds have taken 31 points from a possible 36, which is a start that few Liverpool fans could have dreamed of following the departure of Jurgen Klopp.
But Arne Slot has done tremendously well and seemingly, it’s now his title to lose.
Sky offered up a graphic today using data from Opta, which shared the chances of each club winning the league from their current positions.
Liverpool have a 69.5% chance of winning the title at the moment, whereas City have just a 23.3% chance. Arsenal have a 6.5% chance, and Chelsea, who are now just a point behind City in the table, have a 0.6% chance.
It’s also been reported that Liverpool are only the fourth Premier League team to have reached this stage with an eight-point (or more) gap to the team in second place.
No side has ever not gone on to win the title with such a gap after 12 games played.
City have a mountain to climb, but shouldn’t be written off
Things are certainly looking bleak right now, and City have Liverpool next up in the league, after a midweek Champions League game against Feyenoord.
It’s going to be very difficult for City to win a fifth straight league title from this position, and there will be a mountain to climb if Liverpool win on Saturday.
That said, for all the issues at the moment, it’s still Manchester City and it’s still Pep Guardiola.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 31 |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
| 3 |  ChelseaChelsea | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 |  ArsenalArsenal | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 |  BrightonBrighton | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 22 |
| 6 |  TottenhamTottenham | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 19 |
There will be a strong determination to turn things around in the second half of the season, which is when City usually tend to be at their best.
The absence of Rodri is obviously huge, but if City can have a productive January transfer window, then there could still be a decent chance to close the gap.
