Manchester City is currently struggling whenever they meet the big teams. They have conceded 8 goals in their last 3 EPL games. And have failed to get a win in the last 4 matches.
In that time Rodri has amassed 3 yellow cards and now a suspension for their trio to villa on Wednesday. It's all fun when Rodri is controlling the midfield but when players run past him, he is vulnerable. He needs Stones quickly. If stones should be back i think we will see the impact of Rodri again as he has been unimpressive these last matches.
I am sure that Pep is going crazy right now especially because of yesterday game against Tottenham. Specifically, when Tottenham equalized the last goal i saw his reaction. This was exactly the same incident that happened between them and Chelsea and not it repeats again but different score lines.
Should we say Manchester City struggling this season is quite normal and somewhat expected. This is England where you can’t dominate for a long period of time. Your opposition studies your game play and come out to hit hard when they play you, Rodri who seems like their Pivot man, which they lost all 3 fixtures due to his absence will be absent again this week due to yellow card he’s gotten. The work is quite heavy on him and hear left with no other option than to do the dirty defensive duties alone.
Pep who always wants to win should just get this team back on track else I think he’s gonna be in for hugse surprises as this is the EPL, he might have escaped losing the league title last season, but if he's not careful he won't escape it this season, cause Arsenal and liverpool are becoming very tough as the week goes.
This is what Man City and especially Pep Guardiola fear, failing to defend the trophy. If you look more closely, City weak point this season has been their back line, and losing De Bruyne is another factor. City must be able to secure full points and avoid more draws, so far they have lost 12 points due to 2 defeats and 3 draws.
It is recorded that City have conceded 10 goals in their last four matches. If they continue to be lulled by their status as defending champions, Arsenal and Liverpool are ready to beat them at the end of the season. The existence of Arsenal and Liverpool this season in the hunt for trophies should be seen as a threat, not to mention the performance of a team like Tottenham which could be a stumbling block like in yesterday match.
Apart from that, it is difficult for Pep fleet this season to beat the elite EPL teams, and we have even seen that Arsenal can beat them at the Emirates. Pep should view the current situation as a serious problem, hoping that a club like Arsenal will lose control when they enter the end of the season and overtake them there is not a good idea, armed with his experience I am sure Pep will do something for City.