Manchester City continue to struggle both domestically and internationally as Pep Guardiola looks devoid of ideas on the touchline.
A shocking collapse against Manchester United in the city's derby this past weekend didn't help as the Citizens fell nine points back of Liverpool in the Premier League title race. Not to mention, Arne Slot's team has a game in hand meaning the lead could grow to 12. We haven't even reached the halfway point, but the longer this form continues the worse things will get.
Following the loss, Opta's supercomputer gives Manchester City just a 1.9 percent chance of winning the league now. The team's most likely finish based on the simulation is fourth with 42 percent.
Liverpool have an 82 percent chance of lifting the trophy in Slot's first season, while recent challenger Arsenal have just a 10.6 percent chance. The supercomputer even agrees with Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's words on not being in the title race giving the Blues a 5.5 percent chance of winning it all. Chelsea's best simulated placing is third.
A top four of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City is a shock to the system given the trend the past two years with Guardiola and Mikel Arteta going head-to-head.
Expectations simmered when Rodri went down with a season-ending ACL injury against Arsenal earlier this season, but a full-blown collapse wasn't even considered. Man City has won just one of its last 11 games in all competitions. They've lost their last two Champions League games against Sporting CP and Juventus, they've only beaten Nottingham Forest, and they're out of the Carabao Cup.
Nothing should be off the table realistically considering this is a side who has won four straight league titles and is just two seasons removed from a historic treble. But, the road doesn't get any easier from here on out. Aston Villa and Brentford, two teams that have given a healthy, title-winning Man City trouble in the past, await in their next five league games plus a trip to Parc des Princes in the Champions League to face Paris Saint-Germain.
As of now, Guardiola's team sits 22nd in the Champions League table level on points with PSV and Dinamo Zagreb. If PSG were to beat Man City, they'd leapfrog the Premier League side. A growing gap in the title race is one thing, but falling out of Europe before the knockouts would be a major signal in terms of where this season is heading.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Supercomputer Gives Manchester City a 1.9% Chance of Winning the Premier League .
