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I think City will be favorites to win when they have Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne. These two players really brought City to the peak of their performance. So without those two players I think City are not favorites to win. We can see how City drew against Crystal Palace and was defeated by Aston Villa. Without KDB they cannot develop tactics and pass the ball well. And without Haaland they don't have a great finisher on the front line who will take the slightest chance into a goal. So I hope they both can return as soon as possible before City have to be eliminated from the Champions League.
Haaland has big impact on how finalising their attacks, because he is a great finisher on the front line. His clinical goal-scoring ability is indeed a significant asset for City who turns even the slightest chance into a goal. Without him, City may lack the cutting edge in the attack that can make the crucial difference., as evidenced by the struggles against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
Kevin De Bruyne has a big role in developing tactics and orchestrating the team's passing game. His vision, creativity, and ability to control the flow of the match are pivotal for City's success. Those are reasons to put City as favorite, given their influential roles. While City has a deep squad, certain players have unique qualities that can be irreplaceable in certain situations, especially at the highest levels of competition like the Champions League. And Manchester City have a great squad depth when key players are sidelined.
Erling Haaland is a very influential player for Manchester City and he is the player that Pep Guardiola relies on most in scoring goals. Because Erling Haaland last season was the creator of the most goals in the Premier League so he was able to bring Manchester City to the title thanks to his tenacity on the front lines. So It is not surprising that his absence makes Manchester City's front line unstable and makes the club's performance not work optimally and only relies on the tactics implemented by Pep Guardiola.
The absence of Kevin De Bruyne is also very influential because Erling Haaland's performance is also not as sharp as last season where Kevin De Bruyne can help Erling Haaland in creating goal opportunities. Without him Erling Haaland also feels a loss because there is not attacking midfielder who can appear to replace him. So when these two players when he returns to the club, Manchester City will return to its best performance because the contribution between the two of them is very influential in Manchester City's success.