Manuel Akanji unmoved by Manchester City’s uncertain form as it ‘basically happens every year’ | OneFootball

Manchester City will come back to the way they ‘used to play’, according to Manuel Akanji, who holds a firm belief about the club’s future prospects this season.

Having lost nine matches in 13 games, the reigning Premier League champions managed to end their 2024 calendar year with a smile by recording a 0-2 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

A club-first goal for last summer’s big-money signing Savinho was coupled with the Brazilian providing an excellent assist for Erling Haaland in the second-half, to issue supporters with some hope that they can turn around their fortunes soon.

Manchester City will welcome in a new calendar year by taking on West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, before the FA Cup returns to the club’s agenda with Salford City the visitors.

But before then, and speaking during a recent interview amid a 14-game run of fixtures across competitions that has seen Manchester City win just twice, Manuel Akanji has admitted that their form is something ‘hard to explain’.

“In a bad run like this it’s hard to explain but we need to keep on working and the next opportunity is in a few days,” Akanji explained.

“Sometimes you have a bad run and things don’t go your way, so it’s good to look at things that aren’t working out that well – but you shouldn’t be at the point where you’re changing everything because not everything was good before and not everything is bad now.”

He continued, “I still believe that we will come back to the way we used to play – it will come sooner or later.”

The Swiss central defender has been in and out of Pep Guardiola’s squad due to fitness and injury concerns throughout the season, and the Manchester City boss has often credited inconsistencies within his defensive ranks as the reason behind the uncertain form.

Partnering Nathan Ake at the King Power Stadium last time out, Guardiola will be desperately hoping that the duo can remain fit and act as his dependable pairing whilst Ruben Dias remains sidelined with a muscular problem and John Stones battles a reoccurring foot issue.