The international break gives Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca a chance to sort the squad’s growing flaws.
After a dream debut, Maresca guided the team to a record seven straight Premier League wins right after replacing Guardiola.
Three losses in a row have now left them six points behind Arsenal, who dominate as they chase another title.
In September the club was found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules, and they now await the appeal verdict.
With sanctions looming, the slump could stem from mental strain or from tactical flaws that need fixing.
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Sports psychologist Dr Paul McCarthy brings 25 years of experience with top clubs across England, Scotland, Germany and France.
He works on players’ personal and professional lives, saying both shape on‑pitch performance when routines are disrupted.
“It fuels endless rumours, and a string of defeats can erode a squad’s collective belief,” he explains.
“Collective efficacy – the team’s confidence to win – gets shaken by consecutive setbacks,” he adds.
City sat atop the table after a flawless start, but now sit third behind Arsenal and Brighton. In my view, Maresca’s tactics feel out of sync with his squad.
Following the guilty verdict, Maresca’s side edged 10‑man Liverpool at Anfield and scraped past Ipswich at the Etihad.
Subsequent defeats to Aston Villa, Brighton and Nottingham Forest exposed defensive frailties and costly individual errors.
They kept clean sheets in the first seven games, yet the last three matches produced four player mistakes leading to goals.
Conceding 13 goals in ten league games marks their worst defensive record since 2008‑09, when they let in 16.
When asked if the appeal uncertainty could distract players, McCarthy replied, “Yeah, that’s a very reasonable human response.”
“Uncertainty breeds a loss of perceived control, often more stressful than bad news, research shows,” he notes.
“While waiting, players train and play without knowing the outcome, feeling detached from responsibility,” he adds.
In a Chelsea video for NBC Sports, Maresca described shifting counters into a 3‑2‑2‑3 shape before morphing into a 3‑1‑6 formation.
He said the six‑attacker setup helped outnumber Inter Milan’s back five in a past encounter.
This season he favours the 3‑1‑6 shape, swapping a second holding midfielder for an extra attacking midfielder.
Coaching a talent‑rich squad justifies a forward‑leaning style, yet success hinges on player suitability for those roles.
Key questions now revolve around Elliot Anderson and his midfield partners.
Anderson, a natural roaming midfielder, used his physicality at Forest, but Maresca now molds him into a deeper role after Rodri’s exit.
Adapting to that role will take time, just as Rodri needed when he first arrived.
It isn’t inherently wrong to reshape a player, yet City have looked exposed through the middle lately.
Anderson often abandons his holding duties to press, allowing clever opponents to pull him out and thread passes centrally.
With City pressing high, Anderson must cover extra space while his midfield mates lack the necessary physical presence.
When City possess, Enzo Fernández often makes attacking runs, leaving only two or three players behind the ball and inviting counters.
Maresca stresses the problem is losing the ball early, not the shape, noting after the Forest loss: “You concede transitions when you lose the ball and don’t win duels.”
Further worries arise when evaluating the options behind Anderson.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma isn’t famed for ball‑play; the backline is competent but has made costly errors under pressure this season.
Guardiola’s previous fix was to give midfielders more ball‑playing duties.
The exits of Rodri and especially Bernardo Silva, who used to drop deep and drive the build‑up, have magnified City’s issues.
Anderson can’t single‑handedly replace Silva’s creativity, but Ayyoub Bouaddi showed similar potential against Brazil in the World Cup.