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Man City can live without Kevin De Bruyne, but they score fewer goals, concede far more and struggle for points when Rodri is missing... their dire defeat at Aston Villa proved Pep Guardiola has a midfield conundrum to solve

Manchester City fans have had few reasons to be concerned over the last seven years, but alarm bells will have been ringing after their 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Pep Guardiola's men were completely outplayed, managing just two shots in the entire match which came from the same passage of play, while Villa had 22 efforts on goal and could have won by more than just Leon Bailey's deflected strike.

City looked insipid in attack and vulnerable at the back, but the biggest issue was their lack of control in midfield.