~Snip
I think the best thing for Manchester City now is to prepare themselves for this coming transfer window and use the opportunity to get good replacement to avoid all this disappointment because it very bad to see the current champions facing a lot of embarrassment due to injury, it's clear that those players that were injured are the faces of the team. Talking of four teams I don't think arsenal are in that line because I was not impressed with their style of play but Chelsea are showing sign of seriousness and they are working towards achieving that goal, with the way they are going i expect to see them on the top of table only if they continue to push harder, currently Liverpool are the leading team in the table with 9 matches won, a draw and a defeat and leading the current champions with 5 points, l still don't expect much from Manchester City if those players are not back.
Basically, Manchester City's poor performance this season is the hope of teams like Liverpool and Arsenal who have been really hoping for a title. Liverpool and Arsenal have of course failed in many seasons since Pep Guardiola coached Manchester City, but this season there is a chance for them to win it if Pep Guardiola fails to fix his team's performance problems. Manchester City is 5 points adrift of Liverpool at the moment, not much but it will certainly be difficult if Manchester City's performance does not improve.
Manchester City have defended 4 titles in 4 consecutive seasons and if they manage to win it again this season, it will be their 5th title in 5 consecutive seasons. Not a single Premier League team has ever done it in history, but Manchester City hasn't lost that opportunity yet.