Manchester City won their first seven Premier League games. They have lost their next three. Defeats to Aston Villa, Brighton and Nottingham Forest have left Enzo Maresca's side third, six points behind Arsenal after 10 matches. So what has changed?

Three defeats, three early setbacks

The run began with a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa, followed by a 1-0 home defeat to Brighton and a 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest. City conceded the opener in the first 11 minutes of each match. Across the three league games they scored twice and conceded six.

It has not been a straight line downwards in every competition. City beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in the Champions League between the Brighton and Forest defeats. The concern is specifically their Premier League form.

Plenty of the ball, too few goals

Against Brighton, City's 21 shots to seven and 62 per cent possession brought no goals. Erling Haaland had four shots, one on target, while Jérémy Doku had three and also failed to score. Those are snapshots of one game, not proof either player has lost form for the season. Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and his defence deserve credit too.

At Forest, City had 78 per cent possession and 12 shots, but the hosts put five of their 11 efforts on target to City's four. Rayan Cherki pulled one back after Forest went 2-0 up, before Liam Delap's second ended the comeback. Our Forest v City match centre shows the match events and team statistics.

Individual mistakes have been costly

The goals also reveal problems at the other end. Matheus Nunes missed a clearance in the build-up to Brighton's winner, as reported by Sky Sports. At Forest, City's own match report says Joško Gvardiol was dispossessed by Jair for the opening goal.

Haaland scored against Villa but not Brighton or Forest. For a striker judged on goals that is a quiet three-game return, although finishing is a shared responsibility and a small sample can change quickly.

Injuries and missing players

Antoine Semenyo missed the three league defeats with a knee injury. Before the run, Maresca estimated that the winger could be out for around eight weeks; that was an estimate, not a confirmed return date. FourFourTwo's injury report recorded two goals and three assists in his first seven league appearances this season.

Marc Guéhi and Gvardiol both came off at half-time against Forest. Maresca said Guéhi had requested the change because of injury and that Gvardiol had experienced issues during the week, according to NBC Sports. City subsequently confirmed Guéhi's withdrawal from the England squad. Neither player's availability for Fulham has been confirmed.

What happens next?

City host Fulham on 21 November after the international break. See the Premier League table and upcoming fixtures for the latest picture. In the pre-match betting market against Forest, City were favourites, as shown in our Matchweek 10 preview; the result is a reminder that favourite status does not guarantee a win.

Three defeats have raised questions about City's finishing and defending. With 28 league games still to play, the Fulham match offers the first chance to answer them.

Photo: Ank kumar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and darkened with text added; the adapted cover is shared under the same licence. File photograph from 2013.