Manchester City is only 5 points behind Liverpool who are leading the standings, I think 5 points is not something that is difficult enough for Manchester City to catch up with because there are still many matches left this season. Even for Liverpool, they could lose points and that would be a great opportunity for Manchester City to reduce the points gap.
I also believe that Manchester City's performance is not bad enough and two consecutive defeats are certainly not fair to say that Manchester City will have difficulty competing for the title.
Manchester City will target a lot of hope this season, they want to extend their record as a team that has won the title for the 5th time in a row. But still every season requires hard work and I think Pep Guardiola will be able to bring his team to victory in the upcoming matches.
The point difference between Liverpool and Manchester City is not much but it is not going to easy for Manchester City to retain their title. Even though two consecutive defeat in the Premier League is not that much, I don't think Liverpool would give Manchester City can opportunity to crake the lead. Manchester City are going through their fair share of injuries, and the team is experiencing an unusual dip in form. Their recent struggles shows that Liverpool may have an opportunity to win the league this season.