Diego Costa says his Chelsea side will eliminate Manchester City from the Premier League title race if they beat them on Wednesday.
The Blues’ shock 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday has breathed new life into the battle to top the standings, after it previously appeared to have been done and dusted.
Antonio Conte’s men remain seven points clear of Tottenham and 10 and 11 clear of Liverpool and City respectively but will be keen to prove their loss to the Eagles was only a blip.
Chelsea won 3-1 at the Etihad in December and are 2.30 to complete the double, with the draw 3.20 and the Citizens 3.00.
A win would likely see the 1.10 favourites for the title take a huge step towards claiming the prize for the second time in three years and will also realistically end any chances of Pep Guardiola’s men catching them.
Costa admits his team were frustrated by their performance on Saturday against Palace but is confident they can bounce back by ending City’s hopes.
He told ESPN Brazil: “After a loss at home and with a rival closing the gap the importance of the game only grows.
“We know this game against Manchester City will be a six-point affair since if we win the game they will be out of the title race while we keep the advantage.
“We hope that the next game the ball will go in, and that we do a better job at handling these counter-attacking plays so we do not suffer from early goals again, and thus avoid what happened against Palace.”
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