MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester City may need to beat league leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to retain their title.
After their 2-0 loss to Arsenal on Sunday, City will visit London on Jan. 31 five points behind Jose Mourinho's team and with the prospect of going eight adrift if they lose to a Chelsea team with a 100 percent home record this season.
And while City have overcome eight-point deficits in each of their two recent title-winning campaigns, manager Pellegrini said victory at Stamford Bridge could be key to his side's chances.
"We still have to play against Chelsea so it will be a very decisive game," he said in a news conference. "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."
City had drawn level with Chelsea at the top of the table before dropping five points in their last two games, when they drew 1-1 at Everton and lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal.