Arguing with Pep, mysterious injuries, Haaland anger - Why Man City have stopped winning

Seventeen games into the season and Manchester City are in crisis, regardless of what Pep Guardiola says.

Guardiola was surprisingly upbeat at Brighton after watching a fourth defeat in a row, calmly accepting that maybe City's era of dominance is coming to an end. He knows the root of their struggles this season stems back to the relentless injury issues which in turn have their roots in the never-ending schedule.

You could say that City are victims of their own success, but Guardiola also insisted that if their era is to end it won't be through a lack of fight on their part.

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Here, MEN Sport look at where things are going wrong for City - and how they can fix it:

Injuries, injuries, injuries

When the injured players return, Guardiola says, things will be different.

He has a point - 11 players have missed games or been unavailable for fitness and injury reasons this season, already reaching 45 separate instances of a player being unable to play. The current injury total stands at nine, with at least two more playing when not fully fit.

Teenagers have been fast-tracked from the academy to help plug gaps, while others like Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol have been used more than Guardiola would have liked. Their performances are starting to reflect that, even if they are better-equipped at starting three games a week.

Some injuries have been easily explained - like Rodri or Oscar Bobb. Others have been more mysterious, vague issues like Grealish's ongoing absence or Jeremy Doku's recurring muscular problems. Phil Foden said he and others have suffered 'burnout' after their summer exploits, and Guardiola's demand for players to play through pain adds to the mystery over some of the more persistent absences.

At present, their four centre-backs, Ballon d'Or-winning holding midfielder, £200m of wide talent and standout player of the summer are all out. Bring them all back and City will automatically be better for it.

Too easy to play against

Take the Brighton defeat for example - Guardiola said City let their lead slip because they were too exhausted to press for 90 minutes. A ramshackle defence was carved open and goals came through the middle again.

Thirty per cent of City's 20 goals conceded in 17 games have come from direct attacks down the middle with 35 per cent from crosses on the break after the opposition have turned the ball over on transition. There have been three penalties - each coming from transitions - three long-range strikes and one header from a corner.

Earlier in the campaign, City developed an unhelpful habit of conceding first, which has now turned into conceding goals in clusters after going ahead. Is that a mentality issue, or are opposition sides becoming more bold against the champions?

Maybe it's to be expected when the defence is chopping and changing every week. Mateo Kovacic has done okay in Rodri's absence but by his own admission needs someone beside him. The lack of experience in the middle of defence and midfield is being exposed.

Key men struggling under pressure

The sight of Erling Haaland seething as he watches another goal go in, before slamming the ball on the centre circle to restart has been a defining feature of the last four defeats. The issues were there beforehand though. There have only been four games where City have genuinely been in control from start to finish, and two have been in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague.

Haaland earned a booking at Brighton for lashing out at Jan Paul van Hecke late on and he hit the turf in anger at Bournemouth when another cross went over his head. He has been guilty of missing a number of opportunities in the losing run, and he has been seen walking down the tunnel with angry body language after each defeat.

That isn't to pick on Haaland, more that the collective issues are stretching to individual players. Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne are all struggling for form when City need them most.

Touchline tetchiness

City aren't used to struggling in games, let alone losing them. Guardiola has looked understandably agitated before, during and after matches recently - even changing his pre-match ritual at Brighton to watch warm-ups from pitchside when he is usually in the dressing room.

Some senior players have offered contrasting views to the manager, too. Bernardo Silva said City are in a 'dark place', Guardiola disagreed. Walker was engaged in an animated touchline discussion with Guardiola at Brighton while the manager left the field arguing with opposition coaches and defender Van Hecke.

Guardiola was short and blunt in his pre-Brighton press conference when he let Lee Carsley know exactly what he thought of his decision to select Jack Grealish for England, in as few words as possible.

The boss was more calm after defeat, while Gundogan and Walker called upon their teammates to step up and reach the high standards they have set themselves. The key to turning this around will be putting the emotion to one side and relying on the processes that have propelled this squad to the best in the world.

Contract confusion?

Guardiola has batted off questions on his future all summer and all season, insisting until recently that he is calm about the situation - and so are the club. He says he will decide in his own time, or if the club indicate that they need to start planning for life without him (if he decides to leave).

"When it happens, will happen. We're in touch regularly," Guardiola said in his last update. "Happens always for the benefit of the club." He added that he has no plans to visit Abu Dhabi this week - the context for that being he has visited Sheikh Mansour during November international breaks to sign his last two contract extensions.

Guardiola said he needs to see if his players have the fight and mentality to continue before committing any more years to the Blues. He has certainly seen how they react in adversity, but has the uncertainty affected form?

Break time

City were flying at the start of the season to their own surprise within the dressing room. The September international break disrupted the flow a little, with three draws in the following four games, plus a win over Fulham which Guardiola has hinted was their worst performance of the season.

City stumbled on after the last break, but narrow wins over Wolves and Southampton masked the underlying problems which came to a head during the four-game losing streak. Luck ran out, but maybe the November break will restore some good fortune.

Even with more players dropping out through injury, the chance for everyone to reset, clear heads, get back to fitness and attack the next set of difficult fixtures could be invaluable.

"I think everybody needs it," said Guardiola of a fortnight off. "In our heads, it will be good for all the players, for ourselves. Especially Ruben (Dias) can come back and hopefully John Stones comes back and hopefully the other players."