On Saturday, Manchester City will play their next game against Brighton.

For the first time in five years, Pep Guardiola will have had a difficult two weeks as he prepares to try and avoid losing the Premier League on a streak, but there is no hint of a crisis at the Etihad. In fact, the Blues will top the Premier League again for a few hours, at least if they prevail.

After spending the last two weeks touring the globe with their national teams, City’s players are back and eager to get the flow and style that they missed in their defeats to Newcastle, Wolves, and Arsenal. Some players will have more to prove than others as the Blues begin a stretch of six games in the next four weeks, which includes a Champions League double-header against Young Boys and tough away journeys at United and Chelsea.

Rodri

Rodri has already expressed regret to his teammates for the absurd red card he received against Forest, and the games he hasn’t played have demonstrated how crucial he is to the squad. The Spaniard needs to immediately return to his pre-suspension level as the league’s top midfielder, starting at home against Brighton, and refrain from acting foolishly.

Jack Grealish

Grealish hasn’t performed poorly, but he still has to find the form he showed when he was among City’s greatest players in January and until they won the title. Under Guardiola, the former Villa player is still fighting for a spot in the England squad, and new signing Jeremy Doku has put his spot in jeopardy.

Grealish’s injury, which delayed the start of his season, will still hurt even after the manager gave an explanation for why he left him out of the starting lineup against Arsenal. It will take the 28-year-old a few games to get back on track and show everyone what he can do for the squad.

Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland has not scored in three games and 369 minutes while wearing a City shirt. While that wouldn’t be too bad for any other striker, it is the Norwegian’s second-longest drought at the Etihad in his career.

Although Haaland has had enough opportunities to score more goals than the eight he has so far this season, losing Rodri has undoubtedly hindered his inventiveness. To get him back into goal-scoring form, a league match at home against a team that hasn’t maintained a clean sheet all season seems like the ideal plan.

Mateo Kovacic

Kovacic is another person who has to exercise caution. The former Chelsea midfielder, whom other referees would have sent off for a stupid tackle minutes after receiving a yellow card, was lucky to remain on the field against Arsenal. Rather than flying into fouls, Kovacic can use his teammate to get back to what he does best. Kovacic and Rodri had a great first game together this season.