Manchester City are currently 8 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League table after their shock loss to Wolves at the weekend. Could this mean that Liverpool are almost guaranteed to win the Premier League? Given how well they’ve been doing, it wouldn’t be a shock.
It’s perhaps no surprise that City are now starting to falter. After all, they have had two years of excellent performances and they have dominated the league under Pep Guardiola. Manchester City have set a high bar over the last few seasons too, amassing 100 points and 98 points respectively as they won back-to-back league titles, breaking all manner of records in the process. This just goes to show what a powerhouse they are, but are Liverpool able to go all the way this year?
It should be noted that Guardiola operates at a very high level of intensity. He has a ton of demands for his staff and the players have to live up to expectations that are, in some ways, hard to meet. That being said, he certainly knows what he is doing because City have been able to win five out of the last six trophies in domestic football.
Sunday’s shock defeat to the Wolves and a recent loss at Norwich exposed a deficiency in the defence of Guardiola and this ultimately poked a hole in his game plan.
Liverpool’s Chances are Even Better now the Defensive Duo are Out
It should be noted that Guardiola is now without his first-choice defensive duo. These are none other than Aymeric Laporte and John Stones. This ultimately means that he is being forced to play a midfielder, Fernandinho, and Nicolas Otamendi. in the heart of his defence, and it’s safe to say that they are not doing much good for the team. Both of them had an afternoon that they’d probably like to forget against the Wolves.
The fact that they could not sign a replacement for Vincent Kompany could be an issue. City also refused to hand over £80m for Harry Maguire too. They are showing vulnerabilities in their full-back roles and this is especially the case when you look at the left side. This has undermined their title defence and it has also allowed Liverpool to race into an 8-point lead. Of course, if you are a fan of Liverpool and their stunning performance, then you’ll be glad to know that it’s now easier than ever for you to play at Slots Of Vegas. There’s a Football Frenzy game that, if you’re a Liverpool fan, you won’t want to miss out on.
Let’s Take a Look at Jurgen Klopp’s Side
Jordan Klopp’s side is boasting a 100% record this season. They are also showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. The difference between Manchester City and Liverpool is that they are not giving up either. Even some of the players of Guardiola’s side are starting to lose their faith.
City midfielder’s own Ilkay Gundogan has come out to say that it’s not easy to accept what is happening. After all, they are seeing their rivals come away with the level of success that they themselves should be experiencing. The player has also come out to say that they have dropped way too many points in the earlier part of the season and that the gap will get even bigger. This ultimately comes down to Manchester City trying to win as much as possible. If they don’t then they have no chances of overtaking Liverpool.
The problem is that if they do come out with a win, they still need to count on Liverpool losing a few games or they may never be able to overtake them. Some have faith that they will be able to do this, but even then, the chances are slim. For this, history would have to repeat itself perfectly.
Seeing Liverpool Win is A Bitter Taste for Manchester City
Of course, there are still a lot of points to play for and it is early in the season still. If Manchester City want any hopes of even being in the title picture against Liverpool, then they need to bank on Liverpool dropping points. By the looks of things, that doesn’t look to be happening any time soon and this could cause major issues for the team and the players.
A lot of the players at Manchester City are not happy at all but the only thing they can do is try and play better in the next game. They have too much to answer for but if they are able to learn from their mistakes and if they can push through then there is no reason why they might be able to claw back to some extent.
They will need to fix the weak points that they have, and they will also need to work hard to show the other teams what they are made of.
Guardiola has never lasted four years or more at any one of his clubs. When he worked with Barcelona, he chose to step down after four seasons. He stated that he was far too mentally exhausted to carry on. After taking a year-long leave, he then went to Bayern Munich for a total of three years. Right now, he’s in his fourth year with Manchester City.
Does this mean he could be due to change things up? Is the pattern going to keep on repeating itself? Could this be Guardiola’s final season? Sure, he’s under contract until the year 2021 and he’s also insisted that he is going to see out the rest of the deal.
By the looks of things, the pressure is taking its toll and there’s a possibility that even he won’t be able to handle the heat. He needs to bring his team back and he also needs to work hard if he wants to have any hopes of taking Manchester City to the finals.
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