City have another tough away trip to Brighton on Saturday.

It is not entirely clear who Guardiola will have available but he will be desperate to avoid a fourth straight reverse.

For Silva, it is a tough time.

“It’s difficult to find the reasons why what is happening to us now,” he said. “In seven and a half seasons, I don’t remember three in a row.

“We’re in a dark place. Everything looks to be going the wrong way.

“The good thing is even though we lost three games we’re in good positions in the Premier League and Champions League. We’re still fighting for everything, but we need to do better. It’s just not good enough at the minute.”

City are second in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool but four clear of third-placed Nottingham Forest and sixth in the expanded Champions League table.

However, they are likely to drop outside the top eight when the second set of matches in the fourth round of fixtures are played.

Nevertheless, at least they are competing, unlike Manchester United, which Guardiola pointed out when he was asked about the prospect of coming up against Ruben Amorim when he moves in at Old Trafford next week.

“Yes, he will be United manager and we will face him two times in the Premier League and maybe the FA Cup. In the Champions League it is not possible.”