De Bruyne on the trip to Everton
LONDON: Manchester City must first negotiate a difficult encounter at Everton before they can dream of winning the Premier League title by beating neighbours Manchester United, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said.
Runaway league leaders City are on 81 points with eight games remaining and have a 16-point lead over United. Should they beat Everton, City can seal the title with a win over Jose Mourinho’s side at the Etihad Stadium on April 7.
Belgian international De Bruyne, 26, is reluctant to look too far ahead and said that the trip to Goodison Park after next week’s international break would not be easy.
“To go to Everton is a very hard game, we know that. They are probably already safe, so we will see,” De Bruyne said.
Everton, who are ninth on 37 points, have won nine out of their 15 home games and Sam Allardyce’s side are unbeaten in the last four matches at Goodison Park.
City are currently on a warm-weather break in Abu Dhabi after a 2-0 win over Stoke City. Pep Guardiola’s side are not in action in the FA Cup, having crashed out in the fifth round after a defeat by Wigan.
They travel to Everton on March 31 after the international break and De Bruyne is hopeful his teammates will return without any injuries.
“It seems so long now to that game. I just hope everybody comes back healthy to play the last part,” he added. – Reuters