Manchester City's high speed train to start the season is still running at full speed and they haven't lost a single game yet. It's hard to criticize a team that's on a 7-game winning streak, but the scary thing is that City hasn't really been at 100% so far, which is a sad reality for the rest of the Premier League and Europe.
I would blame City's injury situation as the main reason why they haven't been at their best so far, and seeing as Gaudiona only lined up 8 players (out of a maximum of 12) in their UEFA reserve list in midweek, the shortage of players is affecting their ability to defend.
Up front, their potent attacking firepower is enough to destroy opponents, with Aynin Chalant still scoring consistently, Phil Cotton stepping up to the plate, Shelly Medjugorje looking like a great acquisition, and Zulian Ivaris arguably the best performing attacking player at the moment.
However, Stones' injury seems to be a key factor in City's defense being slightly weaker than last season, as they have only kept two clean sheets this season. Last season we saw Stones play a different role, moving into the middle of the midfield and making a surprise appearance to help City reach the treble. Gordiona tried to use Ejenji, but the results were not as good as they could have been, and I think that Nottingham Forest, in the second half of last season, are the most capable of trying to capitalize on this and get a sweet spot.
We've seen the likes of Westham, Red Star Belgrade and Sydney United score goals on the counter attack against City, and that's been Forest's usual game strategy, which led to success for them away at Chelsea. I like the attacking pairing of leader Steve Gubba as they all have the pace to get past opposing defenses and then the ability to turn it into a goal. Herschel O'Doul, Erlanga, Gerswig, O'Reilly and Ehonyer are all good players, which ultimately means that their relegation prospects are relatively positive this season, after all, it's crucial to have one or more players who can put the ball in the net on the relegation journey.
