Rodri's punishment will end in 1 more match against Brighton so I think this has also given Manchester City back a sense of security, it's just that for KDB it looks like Manchester City will have to wait longer.
The first 2 matches lost actually I think this is even though it is troublesome but it will not be a problem because they will stay on track, it's just that without Rodri and KDB against Brighton it is clear that this will again be a troublesome match especially with the absenc of a replacement and a suitable formation at this time and Brighton's strength which is currently quite good then this will be tiring again for Manchester City and this could also be disturbing for their points.
The experience Manchester City is going through due to the absence of Rodri and Kevin De Bruyn should be a lesson to them. There is a need to groom a replacement that can stand for them during their absence or buy some player. Pep Guardiola should also change his strategy because teams are now aware that without these two players, the team is highly deficient, so if I were a coach, De Bruyn and Rodri would be my main targets. Brighton has not been a good side in the past few games, they lost games against Chelsea and heavily against Aston Villa. But it was an impressive display in their last game against Liverpool when they were to secure a draw against a very well-fortified side. Coach Roberto De Zerbi has always proved tactically sound, so City should expect a good fight in Etihad.
I think it will be very difficult for the Manchester City team to find players who are comparable to Rodri and Kevin De Bruyn because these two players are so special, there are replacements but the quality will not be equal.
It is true that now there is a slight decline in Manchester City's performance because their two mainstay players are absent, but in my opinion Pep Guardiola's mistake was being too confident after they won everything last season so that this season the Manchester City team has not improved much/added other players to keep up. team stability, and this is the result.
However, I believe Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City team management still have a long time to improve this team so they can maintain what they got last season.
Not only Rodri and Kevin De Bruyn, but Gundagon, one of Manchester City's most important midfield players, has left the team. Kevin De Bruyne has suffered a serious injury. We don't know when he can return to the squad. At the same time, Manchester City is not getting Rodri in the team either. It is quite understandable that Manchester City's performance has slowed down a bit due to the absence of such important players in the squad. Guardiola will not find replacements for these players. Guardiola is rumored to be keen on adding Toni Kroos to the squad in the winter transfer window. But if it doesn't, maybe we will see a tactical change in the Manchester City match.