Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola warned his players not to take their Premier League lead and form for granted ahead of a tough test at Everton tonight.
City are seven points clear at the top with a game in hand on their rivals – a lead built on a record 16-game winning streak.
Ahead of the clash at Goodison Park, the two-time league winner says: “The 16 games in a row is a consequence of thinking of the next one and preparing the best as possible.
“The reality is the games, two months ago we were not in any thoughts for winning the title, now it looks like we are the only contenders.
“Seven points with 15 games left, 45 points to play, a lot of things can happen.
“The only thing in my head is how to beat Everton.”
Guardiola will be missing in-form ace Ilkay Gundogan, who injured his groin after scoring a brace in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Tottenham.
His Toffees counterpart Carlo Ancelotti will also have to deal with the absence of his own top goalscorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
But the Italian reveals that he has a plan, saying: “Calvert-Lewin is really important because he gives us the opportunity to play in a different way... with a long ball.
“We have to find a solution to try to prepare the right strategy to play against City.
“Most of the time, City will have the ball but we have to use our quality and play with efficiency when we have the ball.”