Man City players 'question themselves' as champions suffer ninth defeat – EXCLUSIVE

Manchester City players are questioning themselves amid a terrible decline in fortunes, according to Premier League icon Stephen Warnock. Pep Guardiola's side suffered their ninth defeat of the campaign on Saturday, losing 2-1 to Aston Villa.

The Citizens were second at Villa Park as Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers struck for the hosts before Phil Foden scored a late consolation.

The north-west giants finished the day sixth in the Premier League table and nine points behind leaders Liverpool as their faint title hopes all but disappeared.

City have been in a downward spiral since losing Rodri to an ACL injury in late September and have lost six of their last eight top-flight encounters. The eight-time Premier League champions have also lost two of their last three Champions League matches and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham at the end of October.

And Warnock, who made 212 Premier League appearances during spells with Liverpool, Blackburn and Aston Villa, has given his verdict on the situation at the Etihad Stadium.

The former left-back, in association with BetBrain, exclusively revealed to Express Sport: “Obviously there's been a lot of talk about Rodri's situation and I think that's had a big knock-on effect.

“But I think what we see is a team that has never suffered from confidence and is now suffering from confidence. And they've never had to deal with that.

“It’s so difficult trying to go back and players are starting to question themselves at the moment and finding life on the pitch difficult.

“Pep Guardiola has found an answer so often and at the moment he hasn't found that answer in the system. They've also had a lot of injuries. I don't think we can hide behind that.

“He works with a small team, although it is very talented. But they struggle to find these answers.

“What we see at Manchester City and what Pep Guardiola has spoken about is the need for a little changing of the guard if you want and he needs to freshen things up within the team. And we will start probably to see it immediately in January.

City will aim to improve their form over the festive period and will aim for maximum points when they host Everton on Boxing Day. The team then travel to Leicester next Sunday before starting 2025 with a home clash against West Ham.