Man City double return boost could bring them back to their best

As Pep Guardiola always maintains, the first half of the Premier League season isn't where you want to show your best work.

It's about getting things done, collecting those points while conserving as much energy as possible and ensuring that by the time the new year comes around, you remain in a strong position in the title race. Guardiola even admitted last week that qualifying for the Champions League knock-out stages is his biggest priority at present.

So it shouldn't only be expected for Manchester City to be below their best in the opening games of the season, it's entirely by design. You don't want to go too hard, too soon, playing at your scintillating best from the very start because it's unsustainable. It would take its toll physically and emotionally, leading to burnout at the worst possible time. You can't step up your performance levels at the business end of the season if you're already at the highest level.

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The last two defeats to Arsenal and Wolves - the first back-to-back league losses since 2018 - have given it a negative tint but even so, City have still started the season incredibly strongly. They won their first six matches in succession and it took them until February to win that many in a row last season.

So things are by no means going awry. City would clearly have wanted to win both of those games, but they aren't decisive just yet. Even with all that in mind, there is some concern about the manner of the recent displays, which have felt disjointed and flatter than would be expected even at this early stage of the campaign.

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