Alan Shearer has opened up on Manchester City's struggles under Pep Guardiola this season and explained where he thinks things are going wrong.
Guardiola's side, who have won four Premier League titles in a row, have endured a dramatic collapse in form over recent months, winning just one of their past 10 games in all competitions.
This has left them eight points adrift in the title race, while they are in a battle to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages following Wednesday's 2-0 defeat by Juventus.
City's torrid run has seen them lose to the likes of Brighton, Bournemouth, Liverpool and Tottenham twice, with the reigning top flight champions looking a shadow of their former selves, while several key players have also been badly struggling for form.
City also crashed out of the Carabao Cup and could face a trophyless season for the first time since 2016-17.
Many have pinned their struggles on the season-ending injury suffered by Rodri, but given the dramatic nature of their dip Betfair ambassador Shearer felt there was a bigger reason - although he admitted that there is still every chance City do get back to their best and make something of this campaign.
'I think it would be very dangerous to write them off completely because of who and what they are,' he exclusively told Mail Sport, speaking on behalf of Betfair.
'But clearly it is more than a Rodri problem. The thing that was impressive was how tough they made it for the opposition in terms of their energy and closing people down, but they seem to have lost that, particularly in midfield.
'You've also got Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne, who are all probably past their best.
'They are still very good players but in terms of legs they're probably lacking the legs that City had 18 months ago.'
The recent period has no doubt been the most difficult period of Guardiola's trophy-laden managerial career and the Spaniard has shown signs of the pressure getting to him.
Following a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord in the Champions League last month - when City threw away a 3-0 lead - he appeared for his post-match press conference with cuts and scratches on his face, while he also gave a rather bizarre interview after City's draw with Crystal Palace last week when discussing Rico Lewis' red card.
However, Shearer felt Guardiola's behaviour is natural to that of a manager searching for results, although he admitted the whole situation will have come as a shock to fans, players and the Spaniard himself.
'He's human,' Shearer added. 'He's certainly having a taste of what 99 per cent of managers go through in terms of ups and downs and disappointments.
'He won't sleep at night, he will be hurting like hell, he'll get edgy and nervous but wouldn't we all do that if we're not winning?
'It's just normal. It's hard work at the moment and we're not used to seeing him and his team performing like this and he's not used to it.
'It's very different to what he's always had and it feels as if it won't go away in a week or two.'
In terms of Guardiola solving the various issues his side faces, there has been increasing speculation that City will enter the transfer market in January in an attempt to revert their struggles.
And for Shearer, he felt like this was the natural move. 'I guess they would look at options available in January and see what can improve them,' he added.
'But I would think even if they were top of the league they would be doing that. They may need reinforcements and Rodri is not back for a while so maybe that's a position where they look to strengthen.'
City return to action on Sunday afternoon when they host arch-rivals United in an eagerly anticipated Manchester derby.
Don't miss Alan Shearer vs Rachael Blackmore in Betfair's Christmas Quizzing… Only Bettor, streamed live on Friday, 20th December.
