A stunning reverse against Aston Villa and then a thorough beating at the hands of the European champions Bayern Munich, it wasn't a great football week for Manchester City.
Manuel Pellegrini was brought in to bring some fantasy football to the blue half of Manchester, but so far all they have seen is this City side play that kind of football in patches.
Agreed, when they do play in that manner, they can be near unplayable, especially if Yaya Toure is running things in midfield and making those barnstorming runs, while allowing the wide players to have an influence.
However, making your team play like you want to - exactly like you want to - takes a long time. And Pellegrini and the Man City hierarchy will need to be patient.
Come Saturday afternoon, City will face another test, and a potent one at that, when they host the only unbeaten team remaining in the English Premier League - Everton.
Roberto Martinez is also taking some time getting his new team playing the way he wants to in Merseyside, and the relatively short trip to Manchester will be made in the hope that the blue half of Liverpool continue their unbeaten ways.
"We have to remember that Manchester City are a top, top football club," Martinez said. "When you are a top football club you know how to move from result to result and competition to competition without carrying any sort of damage with you.
"I don't think it was one of those games (versus Bayern Munich) which you can feel hurt by because the quality of the opposition was clear to see. That's why they are European champions. I don't think there is any shame to lose against a side like Bayern Munich.
"You feel like they (Manchester City) will want to respond and get back to winning ways so that's why we will need to be perfect in many ways. We need to be prepared for a real reaction from Manchester City."
City are currently placed in seventh with ten points from six matches, which includes three wins and a couple of losses, while Everton are two points and three places ahead of them in fourth.
This will be the final round of fixtures before the clubs take a break for a couple of weeks for the international fixtures. James Milner is determined to end this phase of the season on a high, especially after those two disappointing results.
"It's really important to get three points on the board, especially going into the international break," Milner told Manchester City's official website.
"It was a really disappointing performance and result against Bayern Munich the other night but we have to bounce back -- it's good to have this game coming straight off the back of it two days later as it gives us a chance to show our reaction.
"Especially when you go further back and look at the game against Aston Villa where we played really well and never deserved to lose.
"I'm still not sure how we didn't win the game, never mind lose it, but I think if we can give a performance of that quality again at home, we could get a result on Saturday."
Team News: Martin Demichelis remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Stevan Jovetic also misses out with a "couple of small problems." Former Everton man Jack Rodwell will not be available, even though the midfielder is back in training.
On-loan Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry is not eligible to play against his parent club, while Martinez hopes Kevin Mirallas and Darron Gibson shake off their knocks. The game comes too early for Steven Pienaar and Antolin Alcaraz.
"We hope that Darron is going to be fit," Martinez said. "We have got two days to see how he recovers. We have a bit of doubt with his knee from the previous knock that he had.
"Kevin Mirallas is still a concern and I would say he is 50-50 for the weekend. It was a knock during the game against Newcastle. Obviously he was able to stay on the pitch but he has got a twisted ankle."
Key men: Manchester City: Yaya Toure is essential to how Manchester City work, irrespective of the manager at the helm. The man mountain of a midfielder will need to take the game by the scruff of the neck, especially in the tough moments and drive his side to three points.
Everton: Romelu Lukaku will score goals if you provide him with the service. The on-loan Chelsea striker grabbed a brace in the Monday night game against Newcastle and expect him to test the already nervous Joe Hart quite a bit on Saturday.
Where to watch
The match is scheduled for a 5.15 a.m. (IST) start with live coverage on ESPN and ESPN HD from 4.30 p.m. You can also watch the match online by clicking the official link HERE.
Expected lineups: Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy; Toure, Fernandinho; Navas, Aguero, Silva; Negredo.
Everton: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; McCarthy, Osman; Naismith, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku.
Prediction: 2-1 to City
