After ending a seven-game winless streak with a morale-boosting 3-0 home win over Nottingham Forest last week, Manchester City were hoping that this success could act as a springboard for a run of positive results.
However, the reigning Premier League champions were forced to come from behind twice to rescue a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace last weekend, leaving their title hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads.
Pep Guardiola's side currently sit fourth in the top-flight table and are eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who now have a game in hand following the postponement of the Merseyside derby.
Just one win has been celebrated by Man City across their last nine fixtures in all competitions and Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany feels that Guardiola's men have now reached "step two of the healing process", with time needed to rectify the issues behind the club's poor run of form.
Speaking to Sports Mole senior reporter Oliver Thomas, McInerney said: "It was disappointing to drop points, but I feel like this is step two of the healing process. We're going to have to keep working our way back into form and it's going to take time.
"I can't shake the feeling that if Man City didn't have to make changes to [Manuel] Akanji, [Nathan] Ake, [Jack] Grealish, [Jeremy] Doku, I think City would have won [against Palace]. I really do believe that and I think that (fitness issues) is the crux of [their decline in form]."
"It wasn't the best result, but I'm not quite as negative as I thought I'd be," McInerney added. "Would we have lost [against Palace] prior to the Forest game? I think we probably would have actually.
© Imago
"I do think there was a slight notable improvement in resilience, because they did go behind twice and each time they've managed to find an equaliser.
"I understand it's Crystal Palace, they're not exactly setting the world alight right now, but there's so much quality in the Premier League and I do subscribe to the theory that it's never been stronger between 17th and fourth, the levels are absolutely ridiculous."
Can Man City turn 'season of suffering' around?
Man City lost 1-0 at Aston Villa at this stage of last season before going on a remarkable 23-game unbeaten league run (W19 D4) en route to winning an unprecedented fourth title in a row. However, it is difficult to envisage this current Citizens team replicating such an impressive run of form.
After the draw with Crystal Palace, Guardiola admitted that "it's a season to suffer" for his Man City players, while he was also keen to distance his team from Premier League title talk.
While McInerney has acknowledged that Guardiola's comments are "not encouraging", he is inclined to agree with the Citizens boss and has pointed out a few key issues that must be addressed if they are to have any chance of staging a sensational comeback in the title race.
"Guardiola's come out and said we're going to suffer for a bit which is not encouraging, but I don't think he's wrong," said McInerney. "Until the injuries turn around, until we find maybe a player or two in January, I just don't see how this is going to be anything other than a bit of a struggle."
Amidst their well-documented fitness problems, Man City have been tipped to delve into the January transfer window to bolster their squad, with the addition of a new midfielder thought to be a priority as Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
