Is Liverpool match win or bust for Man City?

It has been 34 days since Manchester City last tasted victory in any competition.

Since that 1-0 win over Southampton in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola's side have gone out of the EFL Cup, lost three Premier League games on the spin and dropped five points out of six in the Champions League.

Now, eight points adrift of top spot, they face the prospect of potentially falling out of the Premier League title race with the toughest of challenges at league leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

If City lose to Arne Slot's in-form Reds, they will be 11 points behind their title rivals.

Defensive frailties, a fragile mentality, significant injuries and a lack of confidence are just some of the things pundits, Guardiola and his players have cited for this uncharacteristic downturn.

Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who captained City to a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League Treble in 2022-23, said his side's current situation was "inexplicable".

He said 11 points would be a "huge gap", while Guardiola also agreed "it's true" such a deficit could be too significant to overhaul.

Are they right? Would that tally prove too much for a side renowned for fighting until the end of the season?

Would defeat end Man City's title hopes? What the stats say

• Only on three occasions has a team come from 11-plus points behind in a Premier League season to win the title

• Manchester City have never managed to win the title after being behind by more than 10 points

• To offer some hope, though, they have clawed back deficits of between 8-10 points to win the title on six occasions - and all at a later stage of the campaign than now

• No team, having won the title, has ever lost four in a row in a Premier League campaign

• Only once has a team had an 11-point lead after 13 games - Manchester United in the 1993-94 season, who went on to win the title

• Never before has a team lost five matches in a row - City's run before Tuesday's draw - and become champions

• Guardiola had never previously lost five successive games in his managerial career

• Squandering a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League to eventually draw 3-3 meant City have conceded two or more goals in six successive matches in all competitions for the first time since May 1963.

'There is no way back' - what the pundits think

As shown above, Manchester City are no strangers in turning around a sticky patch of form to go on to win the league.

In fact, in four of Guardiola's six Premier League title-winning seasons, they have overturned gaps of eight points or more.

An ability to recover from a string of poor results and embark on a relentless winning streak, particularly towards the latter stages of the campaign, means no-one dares to write them off in a title race.

But, for once, history is not on their side. Going by the statistics, an eight-point gap feels doable, but to come from 11 behind is something they have not done before - and not many others have either.

Based on their current form, serious doubts are being aired.

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "You know now that if you can get a bit of momentum in a game you can actually blow Manchester City away at the moment. They concede one, they look like their doors are opening.

"It seems to be a mental thing. The game management does not seem to be there. They keep making mistakes or leaving an opportunity for the opposition."

Former Blackburn striker Chris Sutton said City look "fragile" and clearly "lack belief".

"Can they recover overall?" he added. "Maybe we're at the stage where we're looking at Manchester City and wondering can they recover that confidence?"

It is impossible to ignore the significance of injuries to Rodri, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish and even Oscar Bobb.

"Historically, you know City can do it but they look so depleted at the moment," said former Brighton striker Glenn Murray.

"The result [against Liverpool] will have a huge swing on the title race."

Former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison said "there is no way back" for Guardiola's side if they lose at Anfield, but a victory would change the conversation.

"They are capable of putting a stretch of wins together," he added.

"If they can get their season back on track with a result at Anfield then we will all change our tune and say they are back. It is a game that has enormous pressure for City."

Guardiola has committed himself to the club for the next two years but will have to pull off one of his greatest feats if City are to have a chance of lifting an unprecedented fifth consecutive trophy come May.