Here are the answers to some of this week's questions:

Defence is not good enough - maybe little changes from the market can solve that problem? Akollam Stanley

City have lost two league games so now the sky can fall on their heads! City have been far from perfect defensively and the Villa game did throw up the importance of Matheus Nunes - albeit he made a terrible error for Brighton's winner on Saturday - who is almost more valuable when he doesn't play than when he does.

That is the one position that City could move for in January - although I'm not aware that they will and would be surprised if they did. They shelved plans in summer as they prioritised other areas but neither Abdukodir Khusanov nor Rico Lewis have looked comfortable in that position so Nunes doesn't really have a back-up.

That said, Erling Haaland doesn't because it's hard to get somebody who is a soloist in their own right but is willing to come and only play a few times a year. City don't have two players for every position and the possibility of minutes at right-back will have played a part in ensuring that Lewis, Khusanov and Vitor Reis stayed.

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It's also a squad that has been put together at significant outlay. Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi are among the top earners at the club and Josko Gvardiol was nearly a world record transfer for his position in 2023 so there isn't really such a thing as little changes that can be made that wouldn't have a big impact.

What's your opinion on Vitor Reis' long-term future at Man City? Mofunlewi

I think it's been a bright start to the season for Reis. He hasn't made the squad for every game but he has shown the right attitude and has looked decent whenever he has played; the goal on Wednesday was a bonus.

Reis will have known when he accepted the position of fifth-choice centre-back for the year that it would mean far less game time than he had last year, but he will also recognise that it is about growth and opportunities as the season progresses. He needs to put himself in a stronger position by the end of the campaign than he was at the start, and so far so good.

Why does Marc Guehi keep making the same mistakes without being corrected or correction? He doesn't defend the ball, instead defends the opponent who is running with the ball. Let Marc go to the ball and clear it. Sergio Francis

A few weeks ago, I'd have said Marc Guehi had started the season better than any defender in the squad as well so football can be funny. He wasn't great against PSG, had a torrid time against Ipswich and then there was another mistake against Aston Villa before he was dropped to the bench against Brighton.

I do think he looks a bit jaded from the amount of football he has played for club and country, but then he wants to play every game and Maresca made a point of putting him as captain on Wednesday night. He's also been trusted in midfield in the first game and bumped up into the captaincy group, so is clearly trusted as a senior player.

He needs to cut out the mistakes, but so too do many of his teammates. There have been a lot of defensive errors all season, and also enough to raise the question of whether it is a consequence of the playing style. City are a work in progress, which they know.

Do you think UK journalists are portraying Manchester City’s chances of winning their appeal as virtually non-existent, and showing bias in favour of the Premier League, or are they simply reflecting the situation objectively? Dan Newcombe

A very interesting question. I absolutely hate talking about myself as a journalist but these Q&As are usually an exception and given there is so little publicly available about the ongoing case I can see why there is so much interest in how this is being reported, so here we go.

If you think there is bias to the Premier League, that is because the few facts that are available point towards a giant Premier League victory that exposes nearly a decade of City cheating to the tune of £900m. I in no way speak for all journalists or their organisations. I'd say we all have personal bias from lived experience and different contacts and conversations in the job, and also have different jobs and different approaches to those jobs.

I have obviously reflected City appear to be bang to rights and it will be very difficult to overturn the original decision on appeal. At the same time, my experience from covering the UEFA investigation and CAS, and also the Associated Party Transaction skirmish between City and the Premier League, is that things can very quickly turn on their head.

We are still yet to see any of the evidence either from the Premier League or from City, and with so many questions unanswered and with that previous experience I wouldn't want to completely write off City's chances and then find myself writing the opposite if the appeal is successful. But others are completely fine with hammering City on the facts that we do have, and will presumably about-turn if and when required, which is also fine (I think).

Regarding Manchester City’s 114 charges, when will fans finally be able to completely put their minds at ease — perhaps you can give me an exact date, regardless of whether that day brings a good or bad outcome. Thank you. Rex Tom.

Christmas Day? April 1? I can't give an exact date on when the process will all be over, although I'm increasingly of the view that it doesn't really matter.

Most people made their minds up the day the charges were first levelled against the club in February 2023 and it is highly unlikely that a successful City appeal would change the minds of many people who have them guilty; equally, even if all verdicts go against the club, it is hard to see how executives would ever accept such a ruling.

It's hard when the consequences won't become clear until the outcome is finalised but the best thing to do is make your peace with how you feel about it and then no outcome will materially change that. The chances are if you're asking this question that you've already asked yourself these questions, so the reality is any decision by one set of three judges or another likely won't change that.