Man City will be out of title race if they drop more points, says Pep Guardiola amid Liverpool and Arsenal challenge

Pep Guardiola has admitted that he knows any dropped points will see Manchester City relinquish their Premier League crown.

City find themselves third in the Premier League table behind Liverpool and Arsenal as they look to reclaim their title.

Winning the league would see them do so for a fourth year in a row – a feat that has never been managed before in the Premier League.

However, with eight games to go, the champions are three points behind Liverpool while also lagging behind on goal difference.

And Guardiola believes that if his side drop any points now – it could prove fatal to their title dreams.

“We are third and not far from the top of the league,” he said.

“If we drop points it will be almost impossible, so we have to win this game.”

City take on Crystal Palace, live on talkSPORT, in the early kick-off on Saturday at 12:30PM at Selhurst Park.

Earlier in the season, Palace managed to grab a well-deserved draw at the Etihad and a similar result would do Arsenal and Liverpool wonders.

But Guardiola might be without key duo Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne amid fears over their fitness.

“Playing at 12:30 BST and playing two days ago, I have to think [if Haaland and De Bruyne will return]. There are so many games,” he said.

“We play less than two and a half days after our last game. Some players recover quicker than others.

“A long week is completely different but a short week, you have to talk with doctors, physios and staff.

“We are used to playing every three days over many months and months. For many, many years it has happened that way.

“We take one game at a time and don’t give up. We are not new to European competitions so the players know how to handle it – not all the time but most of the time.”