Man City updates: key games preview in the second-half of the season

Manchester City’s hope of securing a fifth straight Premier League title seems almost extinguished. They currently trail leaders Liverpool by 12 points despite playing one game more than Arne Slot’s team.

The weekend defeat to Aston Villa marked City’s sixth loss in their last eight Premier League matches—equalling the number of defeats they suffered across their previous 67 league games combined. The last time they endured six losses in a single campaign was during the 2020-21 season.

Their struggles extend to cup competitions. They were eliminated from the EFL Cup by Tottenham Hotspur and failed to secure victory in their last three Champions League fixtures. With nine defeats in their last 12 matches across all competitions, City have recorded more losses than they had endured in their previous 106 games.

Even with a lead, City no longer appear as dominant or secure as they have been since Guardiola took charge at the Etihad in 2016. The loss to Manchester United marked the second time in three matches that they led at halftime but ended up losing, a scenario they had only experienced twice in their previous 102 such games.

After their dramatic 2-1 home defeat to rivals Manchester United in their last league outing, City aimed to recover but struggled to make any real impact against Villa.

Only in 2019-20 (12 losses) and 2016-17 (10 losses) have Pep Guardiola’s teams experienced more than nine defeats in a single campaign. With tough clashes coming in the second half of the season against teams like Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc., there’s a possibility that City’s head coach could match or record his most number of losses in a season.

Since the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, City are now winless in five consecutive Premier League away games (D1 L4) for the first time under Guardiola. Their last longer winless streak on the road came in December 2015 (six matches) under Manuel Pellegrini.

Concerns about an ageing midfield and injury-hit defence have been compounded by poor finishing. Despite taking more shots than any other Premier League side this season, City’s conversion rate is just 9.9%—their lowest since the 2006-07 season.

City have overcome significant deficits before, winning six of their eight Premier League titles after trailing the leaders by at least eight points. However, trailing Liverpool by 12 points this season feels markedly different, with the team struggling to rediscover their usual dominance.

However, City fans are still optimistic. They’re hoping the team reproduces its usual strong run of form at the turn of the year, which has led it to four consecutive league titles.

Here are the key games that could make or break City’s top four, title-chasing campaign.

Leicester City vs. Man City

A trip to the East Midlands will soon follow as the Cityzens will clash with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on December 29th.

City suffered a shock defeat to the Foxes in the 2021 Community Shield final but have since gone on a four-match winning streak against them, netting 11 goals and conceding just four. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side are not in their best form, losing 4-0 to Newcastle United and 3-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers, leaving them in 17th place at the time of writing.

One big problem they face in this clash is their low-scoring form at the King Power Stadium. They’ve only scored two goals in their last trip to the West Midlands, with both games ending in 1-0 victories.

Their total goals scored after 17 games is 27, eight less than Liverpool and Chelsea, and they’ll need to net more goals to boost a possible top-three finish.

Man City vs. West Ham United

City will kick off the year with a clash against West Ham on 4th January.

The last time the Cityzens played West Ham at the Etihad was a title-decider in the last game of last season as a 3-1 win over David Moyes-led West Ham secured a fourth consecutive league title in the final game of the 2023-24 campaign.

Guardiola will hope this game will be part of a possible run of form to at least challenge for the title or perhaps challenge the challengers for the title.

These two sides met in August in the first leg, with Erling Haaland netting his eighth Premier League hat-trick in the 3-1 win at the London Stadium.

Guardiola has had a good run of results against the Hammers, and this fixture looks to be one of the Spanish manager’s favourites. With 15 wins and two draws, Guardiola remains unbeaten in all his 17 fixtures against the East London side since he took over the managerial reins at the club in 2016.

Man City vs. Chelsea

Another game that could prove pivotal to City’s slim title hopes is the clash against Chelsea in what would be their last clash of the month of January.

The Blues have enjoyed a meteoric rise in form since losing the first leg and have only lost one game since then at the time of writing. They currently occupy second place in the table, and while their manager has played down any title aspirations, a win against the Cityzens will boost their top-four chances.

Pep Guardiola has had the better of his protégés at the beginning of their careers, and he has already indicated his superiority over Enzo Maresca, beating his side 4-2 in preseason and 2-0 in the Premier League.

It won’t be a surprise if he defeats Maresca for a third time, having beaten Mikel Arteta, another of his proteges, nine out of ten times.

Man City vs. Liverpool

Liverpool are riding on a crest of momentum, and they sit comfortably at the top of the table after gameweek 17.

The Reds took City to the cleaners in the first leg of this clash with 25 total attempts and seven on goal, while City could only manage ten shots and two on goal.

This is the match where Guardiola will need his best players available and will hope the injury crisis in his team becomes minimal at the time these two sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on 23rd February.

The result from this much will prove consequential to the league table, and the point gap is definitely going to increase or decrease, and a potential climb or drop in league position is also likely should either side secure a win.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Man City

The defending champions will be filled with revenge when they travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to face Tottenham, which has proven to be their bogey team once again this season. City have lost their two fixtures against the North London club, including a disappointing 4-0 loss in November to end their 52-game unbeaten run at the Etihad Stadium.

City were on the wrong side of numerous records, including becoming the first defending champions to lose five games in a row across all competitions since Chelsea in 1956. Understandably, Tottenham vs Manchester City tickets are in high demand with fans eager to see if Spurs can secure the ‘treble’ against the defending champions.

It was Guardiola’s ninth loss against an opponent in his managerial career and also his first time losing by a four-game margin at home since losing 0-4 to Real Madrid in 2014 at Allianz Arena.

Just like previous seasons, City tend to find their mojo in January, and they’ll hope that remains the case this time, and they’ll hope to ride on that momentum ahead of the game against Spurs on February 25th.