Manchester City players will have returned to training on Wednesday with both hope and dread.

They know that they are better than what they have been showing, and a few days off may have been just what was needed to break the miserable cycle that has seen just one win and eight defeats in eleven games. However, there is also no magic solution that can instantly make everything better for them or bring back all of their injured players.

On top of that, Aston Villa is a hard place to go. Erling Haaland is in his third year at City and has never won there, and last year Villa was the low point of City's season as they were well-beaten in December to leave serious questions about their chances of retaining the Premier League title.

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That game was significant because it felt ahead of kick-off that City would be second-best and they absolutely were. Similarly this year, when they were second-favourites with bookmakers for a game for the first time in seven years it seemed right and played out that way as Liverpool crushed them.

For whatever reason, City are currently still seen as bigger favourites to win on Saturday than Villa are. Both the formbook and recent meetings between the pair would tell you otherwise, and many Blues will not be optimistic as they head down the M6 on Saturday morning.

Defeat on Saturday will surely mean the title race isn't spoken of again this season at the Etihad, with lower targets to aim for instead. So crushing has this run of form been since the beginning of November that City spirits and standards have stooped lower than anyone imagined.

It is well past the point where one win will change anything, but City's run means that victory at Villa will now be seen as far bigger an achievement than it would have done in the opening three months of the season. The Blues have been losing to average teams for weeks, so beating one of the best in the division would make a statement around the league that rumours of City's total demise have been premature.

The world is waiting for flickers of life from the title-winning machine, and as much as one batch of three points won't fix the fundamental problems in the squad it would at least send City into Boxing Day with bit of festive cheer. Winning at Villa Park would normally be a good result for Guardiola's side, but in these circumstances people really would take notice.