Enzo Maresca believes Manchester City will be back in the Premier League title fight, while insisting that it is ‘just the reality’ that Chelsea are not a real challenger for the crown. Chelsea will play the West London derby at home on Thursday against Fulham, second in the standings and only four points behind leaders Liverpool, having played one more game than the Merseysiders. In contrast, City, despite winning an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles before this season, are now 12 points off the top after a deplorable run of nine defeats in 12 games in all competitions.
But Maresca, who worked alongside City boss Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, said: ‘Manchester City will eventually be there. They are in a moment that has never happened before.
‘Every time they play a game, they have an injury and they don’t have enough players at the moment. And the ones they have are not 100 per cent because they have just come back from injury, so it’s a very bad situation.
‘We are ahead of our expectations, in terms of how we are playing and the points we have, but the main focus is how we can improve the players and how we can improve the team.’
Maresca, who has repeatedly dismissed any title talk regarding Chelsea, added: ‘It’s not about the pressure (of the title) for the players or for the club or for me, it’s just the reality. ‘I would like to have that kind of pressure and I hope we can soon, but the reason I said we are not there yet is because the reality is that we are not there.’
Maresca, when asked if it was now Liverpool’s title to lose, said: ‘No, the reality is that we are second half, so the league table reflects the teams. ‘But Liverpool did a fantastic job from day one, and the team lived that kind of moment, winning a trophy, which is important.
‘Last year, when Liverpool faced Chelsea in the League Cup final, I looked at the number of finals Liverpool players had been in, and the number of finals Chelsea players had been in, and there was a huge difference. So it shows the experience you need, but we are happy to be where we are.’
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