Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca makes Premier League title prediction

Enzo Maresca has backed Manchester City to recover after Christmas and mount a title challenge.

City have delivered a dreadful defence of their Premier League crown this season. They have won just one of their last 12 games to collapse to seventh in the top-flight, 12 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

The Reds also hold a game in hand on Pep Guardiola's men, which will come in a trip to Everton later in the season. Maresca's Chelsea are currently second, sitting four points behind Liverpool.

But the Italian has consistently played down the Blues' chances of winning the title. Instead, he now believes that Guardiola will turn things around and City will have a chance of retaining their crown.

“Manchester City at the end will 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 in this moment," he said. "And the ones they have are not 100 per cent because they have just come back from injury, so it is a very bad situation. We are ahead of our expectations, in terms of the way 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. It is not about the (title) pressure for the players or for the club or for me, it is just the reality.

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“I would like to have that kind of pressure and hopefully soon we can, but the reason why I said we are not there yet, is because the reality is that we are not. The reality says we are second at the halfway point, so the table does reflect the teams. But Liverpool have done a fantastic job since the first day, and the squad has lived that kind of moment, winning a trophy, which is important. We are happy to be where we are.”

Maresca's men host Fulham on Boxing Day and have the chance to close to within a point of Liverpool. And Cottagers boss Marco Silva is expecting his side will face a difficult afternoon at Stamford Bridge.

"Very, very good. It is quite clear there," he said of Chelsea. "A football club that has spent money in such a short period of time, the quality was there. For young players, it's not easy to find a club with so many young players performing. They are very good and very confident to play in that system. They have been dominant in most of their games. It's another big challenge for us."

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