This is another bad week for Manchester City. But after being left out of the Champions League by Real Madrid and losing 0-2 at home to Liverpool, things could get worse for Pep Guardiola's side.
ignoring the shadow of the hearing into 115 allegations of violating Premier League financial regulations - the verdict is expected to be made in the coming month or sooner - the coming weeks will look gloomy for Man City.
The Citizens have lost 14 of their last 27 matches in all competitions and 8 of their last 17 matches in the Premier League. Their dismal form, unprecedented since Guardiola took over as manager in 2016, has now put Man City in the middle of a Champions League qualifying battle.
The away trip to Tottenham has become meaningless for Man City's hopes of winning the Premier League. With Liverpool leading by 20 points at the top of the table, Man City are almost out of chances to win their fifth consecutive championship. But anyway, the match against Spurs is very important in the context of Man City saving the season.
The Premier League will almost certainly have 5 places to play in the Champions League next season as England dominates the top spot in the UEFA coefficient rankings. However, this only brought some comfort to Man City in their worrying form. Ranked fourth in the Premier League, Man City are only 1 point ahead of 6th-placed Bournemouth and 4 points ahead of 9th-placed Brighton.
Man City are plagued by injuries. Rodri Golden Ball winner may not return until next season. John Stones and Manuel Akanji have also been sidelined for several weeks, while Erling Haaland's knee injury is causing concern. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are rapidly losing the ability to make an impact.
So can Man City's season get so bad that they miss the opportunity to participate in the Champions League? In fact, Man City is currently one of 6 clubs competing for 2 spots. And Guardiola's recent performances have not provided much encouragement for his side.
The good news for Man City is that no team below them is making a difference. Newcastle have lost three of their last six Premier League games, including a 4-0 defeat to Man City. Meanwhile, Bournemouth's impressive 4-match winning streak in 5 matches suddenly stopped against Wolves.
Chelsea have dropped to 7th place after a series of 2 wins, 5 losses and 3 draws in the last 10 matches. Meanwhile, Villa have only just ended a 5-match winless streak in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Brighton are in top form among the Champions League-chasing sides, having won four of their last six games.
Therefore, among the 6 teams pursuing the last 2 Champions League spots, neither team can be confident in their form. However, Man City need to beat the resurgent Spurs and then reduce Brighton's hopes with another win at the Etihad. The Citizens also have home games against Villa and Bournemouth in the coming weeks.
At this point in a typical season for Man City under Guardiola, all those games were just for procedures. Man City continued to win on the way to conquering another title.
But this has not been a normal season and Man City have been dragged down to the weak teams. Therefore, nothing is certain, even a place in the Champions League.
