After their surprise defeat to Arsenal on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, Manuel Pellegrini said afterwards that Manchester City must beat Chelsea on January 31, when the defending champions confront the league leaders hoping to claw back the five-point advantage that Jose Mourinho’s men currently hold.
“We still have to play against Chelsea so it will be a very decisive game,”
Pellegrini told reporters after the 2-0 loss to Arsenal.
“We will try to win that game to close that gap again. The game we must play at Stamford Bridge is a very important game.
“We must close the gap to two points. I hope we are going to recover and play the way we are playing so far,” Pellegrini added.
City had clawed back an eight-point deficit in December by winning five of six games with Pellegrini named as December’s Manager of the month.
And he will hope to get something from Stamford Bridge without Yaya Toure, as they have lost all four matches they have played this season without the Cote d’Ivoire captain.
