Manchester City are dusting themselves off after a 4-0 humiliation at Goodison Park last week, and as soon as they pick themselves up they’ll come to a horrible realisation: things don’t get much easier.City have had to think about lots of things this week. For some of the players, their very ability has been questioned, for others it’s their commitment. For Guardiola himself it may well be everything: from his tactics to his team selections, from his transfer choices right down to his decision to come to City in the first place; and whether he can stick it out. Perhaps the most pressing question was to decide if the team is still in with a shout of the title.And yet this weekend, there is no time to feel sorry for themselves, or to bounce back with a victory over a smaller side. No, this weekend, City welcome second-placed Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium.The most in-form team in the league face the team who currently have the most egg on their face. And Pep Guardiola has to figure out how to win it - here’s three key questions he must answer before Saturday's 5.30pm kickoff.

Can Claudio Bravo continue in goal?

Does Pep care about goalkeepers? Maybe he just cares that they’re as good with the ball as defenders. At Bayern Munich, though, Guardiola possessed the best goalkeeper in the world in Manuel Neuer.

The German number one has shown time and again that he is a fabulous shot-stopper, of course, but his stats at Bayern don’t tell the whole story. And Bravo’s at City don’t either. At one point last season, Munich were so dominant that had Neuer let in every single shot he’d faced, Bayern would still be top of the league.

Perhaps Claudio Bravo is simply attempting to prove that you can win the league whilst still managing to concede every shot on target, or perhaps it’s City’s defence - and their ability to keep possession properly - that is a major part of the problem.

How to get around Spurs’ pressing?

City are set up to keep possession, and that means players off the ball are set up to show for the man on the ball. The problem, though, is that means defenders aren’t set up to defend, they’re set up to support the man in possession. And if he loses it, a counter-attack is possible from almost any position on the pitch.

When playing against a team so well versed in harassing the man on the ball by hunting in packs, the likes of Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones better be able to find a pass to feet. Otherwise, a repeat of White Hart Lane’s masterclass in pressing could on the cards for Pep, this time from the comfort of the home dugout.

How to break down the league’s best defence?

City have only failed to score twice this season, once against Spurs at the Lane and the other against Everton last week. Every week, City look on the brink of a full-blown crisis only to rein it in at the last minute - but it would be a veritable crisis if City weren’t just to lose this game but also fail to score in a second successive Premier League match.

The problem is that Tottenham aren’t an easy team to score against. They boast the best defence in the division, and if you were going to design a team to beat this Manchester City side, it would look like Spurs: defensively resilient, experts in high pressing, pacey on the counter, and with a striker who doesn’t spurn chances - they are exactly what City fear most.

If Spurs play three at the back, though, there will be a chance to get into the spaces in behind the wingbacks, especially with Jan Vertonghen out injured. If Toby Alderweireld is dragged out of the centre to cover behind the wingbacks often enough, then the movement of Aguero in the centre will be very dangerous indeed.