Zabaleta: City title defence alive

13 January 2013 10:16

Pablo Zabaleta feels Manchester City are still in the hunt to retain their Premier League title despite their deficit to Manchester United.

Indeed, Roberto Mancini's men could be kicking off their game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday fully 10 points behind their rivals United, if Sir Alex Ferguson's men manage a victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford in the early kick-off.

However, Zabaleta recalls a similar scenario last season, when his team were eight points behind and still won the title for the first time since 1968, so the Argentine full-back isn't ready to hand the crown back to their Manchester counterparts just yet.

"We won the Premier League title because we believed in ourselves, now it's the same," he told the Daily Telegraph.

"We are under pressure and we cannot drop any points at the moment.

"If United beat Liverpool then it's going to be difficult for us. But we need to control the situation and keep calm. We can’t drop points and we must wait for United to drop some points.

"When I signed it was too far to think that in four years we could win the title, but you always have the dream of winning something."

Manchester City have dropped eight points in their past 10 games, with Manchester United dropping just three in that time.