The final margin on Saturday may have been harsh but ten points now separate them from Wolves pulling away at the top. For regular Claret and Amber watchers, the 3-0 loss followed a similar pattern of recent games. With just over an hour gone there was little to choose between the sides. An equaliser looked more likely than a Wolves second goal. But it's about that point when the legs start to go.
City have a side packed with big-match experience but they are also getting on a bit.
There is no option of a pace injection and the opposition know it. Watford knew it and you can be damn sure Wolves knew it. Here's the gameplan - suck City in, don't give them space to play and then push it past them and run, run, run. Inevitably a third followed almost immediately afterwards and City were on the wrong end of an unjust scoreline. The facts speak for themselves - eight of the 18 league goals they have conceded have been scored in the final 15 minutes.