I guess you can't say Man City are in poor form... It's just that other clubs are playing better this season... That's why the EPL has a high competition in the standings... It's not easy for Man City to play in the Champions League and in the EPL... But I think that in the second half of the season they will be able to get to the first place, as it was last season...
Manchester City still has the possibility to return to the top of the standings if other teams are not consistent enough in the second half of this season. Because Aston Villa and Liverpool are still showing quite impressive performances this season and are also likely to continue again in the second half of this season. And this will certainly prevent Manchester City from reaching the top more easily because the level of competition this season is much different from last season.
After all, in the previous few seasons also when Manchester City won the Premier League trophy, at least throughout the season Manchester City also had a decline in results and performance . But ya, because Manchester City is a great team then of course over time and in the end Manchester City will again compete strongly in the title race.
Moreover, if for example Bruyne can return to play in the near future or ya, at least if Bruyne can return to play in the second half of the season . Then yes,atleast it will also be a guarantee for Manchester City to get their best performance back in the second half of the season.
After all, Manchester City are still in third place at this moment and yes, despite having a 5-point gap with Liverpool who are at the top of the Premier League standings. At least Manchester City still have a chance to be able to put pressure, and thus there is still a chance for Manchester City to be able to return to the top of the standings even though ya, it is not as easy as imagined.
Ups and downs in performance will definitely come to all clubs, we understand that there are many factors behind this, the club that gets the least amount of this situation will be lucky to lead the standings, yes I mean Liverpool. But on other hand, it is still doubtful that the position of Klopp squad will remain stable in the future, This means that the club currently in the top four has the opportunity to overtake Liverpool in the remaining matches ahead.
I admit that Man City has all the attributes and resources needed to maintain its dominance again this season. Likewise with Aston Villa and Arsenal, which I think also has the same thing, and we also have to be fair that their chances of competing for the EPL trophy are still quite big.
If Pep Guardiola squad has a big chance of overtaking Liverpool, then I think Aston Villa and Arsenal also have it and even we can't close our eyes to Tottenham existence. the dynamics of competition in winning the EPL trophy this season are very tight, I think the broader meaning of competitiveness can be interpreted as meaning that mediocre clubs also have the potential to steal points from favorite clubs.