Pep Guardiola needs a quick response from his side against Arsenal today to show that Manchester City's challenge for the Premier League title remains intact. Guardiola can be thankful City will go into the match at the Etihad Stadium only five points behind leaders Liverpool. It could well have been worse after a lethargic display brought a surprising 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Newcastle on Tuesday, but Jurgen Klopp's side struggled to take advantage as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Leicester the following night.

City could argue Tuesday's defeat was a blip, given they had won their previous eight matches, but three of those victories were in cup games against lower-division opposition.