The champions are in relegation form as they prepare for what is already shaping up to be a season-defining showdown at Anfield

Ever since Manchester City were hit with 115 charges by the Premier League for allegedly breaking its financial rules, rival fans have been dreaming of the prospect of Pep Guardiola's side being relegated as a punishment. But if their recent results persist, they will not have to wait until that interminable case finally gets a verdict; they could get their wish in May when the season ends.

Make no mistake about it: right now, City are in relegation form. They have lost five of their last six games and are without a win in any competition since scraping a 1-0 victory over Southampton on October 26. Even the sorry Saints have won more recently than Guardiola's "fragile" side, who are also leaking goals at an alarming rate.

During this winless run, they have conceded more than two goals per game (17 in six) for the first time since 1963, when they were indeed relegated. In their last two home fixtures, against Tottenham and Feyenoord, they have shipped seven goals, one third of the total amount they let in throughout the entirety of last season.

It has not even been a particularly difficult run of fixtures for City, who have lost to Tottenham (twice), Bournemouth, Brighton, Sporting CP and drawn with Feyenoord. And just as they are at their lowest ebb, now they have to go to an all-conquering Liverpool, who have won every game in all competitions this season bar two and are feeling unstoppable after beating Real Madrid. Things might be about to get a whole lot worse before they get better…

GettyLost without Dias

Everywhere you look at City at the moment, there are major issues. But the biggest problem area is undoubtedly defence, and City made unwanted Champions League history on Tuesday against Feyenoord by becoming the first team to fail to win a game after being three goals up in the 74th minute.

These are unprecedented times for the club in the Abu Dhabi era. The thrashing by Tottenham was Guardiola's heaviest-ever home defeat, while it was City's biggest loss since moving into the Etihad Stadium in 2003.

There are two obvious reasons for their woes: the twin absences of Rodri and Ruben Dias. City famously didn't lose a game for over 15 months with Rodri in the team, and the Ballon d'Or winner's season-ending injury has shaken them from top to bottom. But as well as having no real defensive midfield cover, they are suffering badly without Dias, who has been out for the last month with a calf injury.

The Portugal international was the solution to their last crisis of results, when they surrendered the title to Liverpool in 2019-20. His arrival led to them winning a historic four consecutive titles, and they look lost without him. Rather like with Rodri, the difference between City when Dias is playing and when he isn't is stark. According to , the centre-back has been responsible for 20 percent of City's clearances in the Premier League since he joined from Benfica. When Dias starts, City concede a goal every 70 minutes; when he doesn't, it's every 60 minutes.

Without Dias, City are also lacking coordination in their pressing. They are playing with a higher defensive line than in any previous season and are being punished on the counter as they struggle to catch opponents offside.

AdvertisementGetty Ederson exposed

City's defensive frailties, however, cannot all be blamed on the absence of their Iberian lynchpins, nor on John Stones' repeated absences. Josko Gvardiol has given away four goals through errors in the last two games, while Kyle Walker looks like he is approaching the end of his career at the highest level, his 34 years and 60-plus games per season eventually catching up with him. The inexperienced teenager Jahmai Simpson Pusey, who Guardiola refers to as "the young lad", has been thrown into the fire and, at least for now, seems out of his depth.

Then there is Ederson. The aforementioned high defensive line has led to City relying more and more on the Brazilian goalkeeper to sweep up behind the defence. He is making the third-highest number of sweeper-keeper actions in the Premier League this season (according to ) and sweeping at his most frequent rate since his first season with the club, in 2017-2018. The 31-year-old has, however, contended with a number of injuries within the last year and is not nearly as sharp as coming out of his area and clearing as before. Just look at how he misjudged the flight of the through ball in the build-up to Feyenoord's equaliser, while he had also been sloppy for the other two goals.

Doubts about Ederson's shot-stopping are not new, and it is no secret that he is City's No.1 on account of his ball-playing abilities than his capacity to make top-draw saves. But his propensity to concede the first shot he faces is getting more and more obvious. It was a theme of the last two seasons, but it mattered little as City were so productive down the other end. Now the goals are drying up, they cannot afford to have such an unconvincing goalkeeper between the posts.

Getty Midfield with no anchor

City's midfield is not performing much better. If things were bad enough without Rodri, they are even worse without Mateo Kovacic. Ilkay Gundogan has been left to anchor the midfield largely by himself, only getting support from the technically brilliant but rather lightweight Rico Lewis.

Gundogan has never been suited to the holding midfield role and Guardiola choosing him in that position over Rodri and Fernandinho in the 2021 Champions League final was a huge factor in City's defeat to Chelsea. Three years on, now aged 34 and after a season with Barcelona, he is finding it even harder. Jamie Redknapp and Gary Neville both agreed he "got nowhere near" Tottenham's James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski while covering the match for .

Bernardo Silva has been hugely disappointing too, as he is lacking his usual dynamism. Indeed, things have got so bad for City's enginge room that Rodri is now targeting a return from knee surgery before the end of the season. It is never a good idea to rush your recovery, but Rodri clearly cannot bear to witness his team toiling without him and wants to get back as soon as possible to stop the rot.

Getty Images SportNo help for Haaland

The attacking midfielders and forwards are also having a torrid time. Phil Foden is a shadow of the player he was last season, showing less interest in trying to dictate the play like he didin 2023-24 and is thus witnessing a massive drop off in his production. He has just one assist in the Premier League, with no goals in domestic competition.

Speaking of no goals, Jack Grealish hasn't scored in any competition for City in 2024, while Savinho has failed to score since switching to the Etihad from Girona, despite showing flashes of brilliance. Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, has been largely powerless to help the team, playing just 60 minutes of football since getting injured against Brentford in September. His fitness troubles have even prevented him from making a decision about his future as he has stalled on talks of extending his contract, which expires in June.

It has left an unhealthy reliance on Erling Haaland to do the bulk of City's scoring. Haaland scored 27 of City's 96 league goals last season (27%). This season he has been responsible for 12 of their 22 strikes, a stonking 54%.

The Norwegian is not enjoying vintage campaign either, despite making a ferocious start of 10 goals in his first four league games, as he has netted just twice in his next seven and has been uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal. But as he scored twice against Feyenoord, it was tempting to conclude that, as Guardiola had suggested the previous day, the team's malaise is not Haaland's making.

The coach said: "I would say the reason for our lack of goals is not Erling Haaland. Without Erling, we would be more in trouble! We are lucky to have Erling. Every game, he has three or four chances. One day he scores two or three. We have four or five wingers, but we only had one. Phil was excellent in that position but he's struggled early with niggles and little things. Kevin has been injured. That is the reality and we have to adapt."