Manchester City's season has started to unravel after the perfect storm descended on the Etihad
Halfway through the 2018-19 Premier League campaign, Pep Guardiola's defending champions are on course to collect 88 points
That total would have won them the title in 13 of the 23 years since the top division was first fought out over 38 games
WIN £25,000 for FREE with Footie5 - click here to play But three defeats in their last four outings have left City trailing not only table-topping Liverpool but Tottenham, too
The Blues now face a trip to struggling Southampton, who are showing signs of life under new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, on Sunday before a titanic clash with Jurgen Klopp's pacesetters back home in Manchester on Thursday
Here, we take a look at what's gone wrong for the team that smashed Premier League records last season and became the first top-flight club to rack up 100 points
PRESSURE FROM RAMPANT LIVERPOOL Last season, City were home and hosed in the title race before Christmas
That meant they were able to play pressure-free football. The only time City felt the strain was when they faced Liverpool in two Champions League quarter-final ties, either side of a Manchester derby in which they could have clinched the title
They lost all three games. This season, Liverpool matched their brilliant start – and it was City who cracked first by losing to Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leicester
City had the perfect opportunity to give Jurgen Klopp's men a bloody nose at Anfield in October – but when Riyad Mahrez skied a last-minute penalty it meant the Blues have now failed to beat Liverpool in their last four attempts
The Amazon documentary series that followed City's march to the title illustrated how Klopp and Liverpool got in Guardiola's head
Just three days before the Champions League trip to Anfield, City faced Everton at Goodison Park
Instead of concentrating on the challenge of Sam Allardyce's team, the cameras captured a conversation Guardiola was having with his coaching staff
"They (Liverpool) scare me," he said. "They're dangerous. I mean it." POOR RECRUITMENT When City were champions in 2012 and 2014, they suffered in the following seasons after doing poor business in the transfer market
Sergio Aguero's dramatic strike against QPR snatched the title from Manchester United in 2012, but Sir Alex Ferguson responded by landing Robin van Persie from Arsenal when Roberto Mancini thought he had a deal for the Dutchman in the bag
City's sporting director, Brian Marwood, signed Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair, Maicon, Javi Garcia and Matija Nastasic
All of them flopped as they finished second to United, lost to Wigan in the FA Cup Final and sacked Mancini
In 2014, after Manuel Pellegrini had beaten Liverpool to the title, City's transfer spend was limited to £49million when they failed FFP
Yet director of football Txiki Begiristain blew £40m on Eliaquim Mangala, £14m on Fernando and £8m on Willy Caballero
Later, £28m went on Wilfried Bony. Read More Klopp hits back at Guardiola's mind games with bold claim over Liverpool City were left to rely on free transfers such as Frank Lampard and Bacary Sagna and finished second, eight points behind Chelsea
They lost out to Manchester United in the race to sign Fred from Shakhtar Donesk and, when Jorginho opted to follow his former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri to Chelsea, the alarm bells should have been ringing
Instead, Begiristain smashed the club's transfer record by spending £60m on Mahrez when they already had Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva to play in wide positions
INJURIES Even City's huge squad has found it impossible to cope with injuries to big players
Kevin De Bruyne was the star performer last season, but the Belgian was sidelined for two months after damaging knee ligaments in August and has only just returned to action
Read More Man City make huge transfer decision ahead of must-win Liverpool clash Key players Aguero, David Silva and Fernandinho have also spent time in the treatment room after muscle problems that call into question Pep Guardiola's high-intensity style of pressing
Benjamin Mendy is once again recovering from knee surgery and keeper Claudio Bravo will not play this term after tearing a cruciate
LACK OF DISCIPLINE City's dressing room is hardly populated by football's bad boys, but there have been times when Guardiola has had to stamp his authority on the squad
After ordering Mendy to cut back on his social media activity, the City boss was furious when the French defender turned up three hours late for treatment on a metatarsal injury the morning after going to watch an Anthony Joshua fight in London
Mendy was told to stay away from the club for a week. Read More Robbie Savage's 2018 awards including best player, manager, flop and signing of year Leroy Sane was left out of one match-day squad because Guardiola felt his attitude wasn't right
Guardiola himself boobed with that last-minute penalty against Liverpool when he ordered Mahrez to take it, later admitting he didn't know the Algerian had missed five of his last eight penalties
LOSS OF FORM Aguero, City's record scorer, has hit the net 12 times in 20 games, but last found the target in the Premier League in early November and has looked sluggish
Gabriel Jesus has failed to live up to his promise, and Mahrez has struggled. Even Sterling's blistering form has slowed up
John Stones is struggling for form, Kyle Walker seems jaded after the World Cup, while Ilkay Gundogan has been unimpressive
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