Things haven't gone as planned for Manchester City, as the current Premier League title race is getting tougher, with Arsenal (1st place) and Liverpool (2nd place with a game in hand) having an outstanding campaign, surpassing Guardiola and his team.

Kyle Walker a Doubt for Real Madrid Clash

Moreover, there's a significant factor that could work against the Brits when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, one of the strongest teams in the competition and, along with Manchester City, the favorite to win the title.

This factor revolves around Pep Guardiola's squad struggling to defeat any of the top five teams in the Premier League until today, where they managed to beat Aston Villa 4-1. However, they haven't been able to secure
victories against Liverpool, Arsenal, or Tottenham in the league, with the latter being their opponent in two weeks.

Phil Foden fires Man City to victory with superb hat-trick against Aston Villa

Nevertheless, in the FA Cup, Manchester City managed to overcome Tottenham and Newcastle, teams performing well in the Premier League. This could be the only defense for City to claim that this factor doesn't worry them a week before visiting the Santiago Bernabéu and facing Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid.