{"id":297665,"date":"2023-12-10T00:25:43","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T00:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=297665"},"modified":"2023-12-10T00:25:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T00:25:43","slug":"the-sharpe-end-man-citys-slump-has-been-coming-the-stats-dont-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-man-citys-slump-has-been-coming-the-stats-dont-lie\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SHARPE END: Man City&apos;s slump has been coming, the stats don&apos;t lie!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> THE SHARPE END: Man City&#8217;s slump has been coming&#8230; teams know they don&#8217;t like it up em&#8217;!\u00a0They&#8217;ve got the best players, they&#8217;ve got the best manager, but they are a bit wobbly&#8230;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manchester City have failed to win in their last four Premier League outings\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Pep Guardiola&#8217;s side are facing more shots per game from their opponents\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Man City have dipped, but Gary Neville is WRONG to say they\u2019re complacent &#8211; Listen to It&#8217;s All Kicking Off<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s get this out of the way first: Manchester City will probably win the Premier League this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yes, they\u2019re seven points adrift of Liverpool. Yes, they\u2019ve not won in four. Yes, Pep Guardiola has never failed to win five on the trot. Yes, a team as bad as Manchester United are only three points behind them.<\/p>\n<p>Taking all that into account, yes, City will most likely go on to make it four titles in a row.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve got the best players, they\u2019ve got the best manager, they\u2019ve got the know-how. They\u2019re still the bookies\u2019 favourites for a reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>None of that, however, changes the fact that City are a bit, well, wobbly.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778879-0-image-a-111_1702163373108.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Manchester City have failed to pick up a win in their last four Premier League matches<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778897-12846105-It_comes_as_the_Cityzens_are_also_facing_more_shots_from_opposit-a-65_1702164853401.jpg\" height=\"461\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>It comes as the Cityzens are also facing more shots from opposition teams than they ever have done under Pep Guardiola<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778881-12846105-They_suffered_a_1_0_defeat_by_Aston_Villa_on_Wednesday_with_Vill-a-66_1702164853402.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>They suffered a 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa on Wednesday with Villa now above City in the Premier League standings<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just the Aston Villa defeat, which was a 1-0 battering by Unai Emery\u2019s side. It goes beyond that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The trends are there. Guardiola knows it too. He\u2019s accused his players of grinning like Cheshire cats and needing a shake-up.<\/p>\n<p>This, as you\u2019re about to see, has been coming.<\/p>\n<h2>City are facing more shots this season<\/h2>\n<p>Three of the five games in which they have faced the most shots under Guardiola have come since May.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778661-12846105-City_have_faced_the_most_shots_under_Guardiola_in_three_games_th-a-68_1702164853404.jpg\" height=\"218\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>City have faced the most shots under Guardiola in three games that have come this season\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778661-12846105-They_are_also_facing_more_shots_per_game_this_season_and_have_al-m-74_1702164904869.jpg\" height=\"460\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>They are also facing more shots per game this season and have also had their fewest number of shots taken this season too compared to any other season under Guardiola\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778663-12846105-City_are_conceding_their_highest_expected_goals_per_game_has_als-a-69_1702164853404.jpg\" height=\"239\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>City are conceding their highest expected goals per game has also risen this season to be their most under Guardiola<\/p>\n<p>City are conceding their highest Expected Goals (xGA) per game than the last time they failed to win the title in 2019-20 and the gap between their xG and that of their opponents is the tightest it\u2019s ever been under Guardiola.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As well as having the most shots (and conceding the fewest) against a City team under Pep, Villa also won the ball in the final third 13 times \u2014 the most in the PL against Guardiola\u2019s City. Again, it\u2019s not a one-off.<\/p>\n<p>The three times when teams have most won the ball in City\u2019s third in a PL game \u2014 and four of the top seven \u2014 have come since May.<\/p>\n<p>Teams are starting to realise that City don\u2019t like it up \u2018em. Sit back and let them play, they kill you in the end. Go for them and, who knows, you might just stand a chance. Just look at Spurs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778665-12846105-Aston_Villa_won_the_ball_in_City_s_final_third_13_times_during_t-a-70_1702164853405.jpg\" height=\"780\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Aston Villa won the ball in City&#8217;s final third 13 times during their 1-0 win on Wednesday\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778659-12846105-They_also_won_the_ball_inside_City_s_final_third_more_times_than-a-71_1702164853406.jpg\" height=\"318\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>They also won the ball inside City&#8217;s final third more times than any other side has done against Pep Guardiola&#8217;s team since he took charge at the club<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778657-12846105-The_departure_of_Ilkay_Gundogan_has_seen_Julian_Alvarez_make_les-a-72_1702164853407.jpg\" height=\"281\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The departure of Ilkay Gundogan has seen Julian Alvarez make less touches and less passes<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/23\/78778919-12846105-With_Gundogan_no_longer_at_the_club_Alvarez_has_failed_to_make_a-a-73_1702164853414.jpg\" height=\"444\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>With Gundogan no longer at the club, Alvarez has failed to make as many touches and passes this season but has scored four goals in 15 Premier League appearances\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rodri is key to this, of course. The three games when City lost the ball most in their back third came when Rodri either wasn\u2019t playing or was at centre-back. The last five games City have lost, Rodri hasn\u2019t been playing.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just Rodri. Kevin De Bruyne\u2019s injury and the departure of Ilkay Gundogan have been vital. Without Gundogan, City lose control. Julien Alvarez is a forward in midfield. He\u2019s more direct on and off the ball.<\/p>\n<p>It means City take more risks with the ball. They used to bore teams to death with relentless passes but can\u2019t right now because they don\u2019t have the players to do it.<\/p>\n<p>Against Villa, two centre-backs played in holding midfield. It\u2019s over to Pep, once again, to make a new way work.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12846105\/Man-City-Pep-Guardiola-Sharpe-End-Premier-League-Aston-Villa.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>THE SHARPE END: Man City&#8217;s slump has been coming&#8230; teams know they don&#8217;t like it up em&#8217;!\u00a0They&#8217;ve got the best players, they&#8217;ve got the best <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-man-citys-slump-has-been-coming-the-stats-dont-lie\/\" title=\"THE SHARPE END: Man City&amp;apos;s slump has been coming, the stats don&amp;apos;t lie!\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>THE SHARPE END: Man City&amp;apos;s slump has been coming, the stats don&amp;apos;t lie! 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