Manchester City
Manchester City will be hoping to record a win in this game in order to keep the pressure on ChelseaReuters

Defending English champions Manchester City take on Hull City at the Etihad stadium as they look to close the gap between themselves and Premier League leaders Chelsea.

The Citizens have not been in the best of forms of late, having failed to register a win in their last three Premier League fixtures against Everton (1-1), Arsenal (2-0) and Chelsea (1-1).

This drop in form has allowed the Blues re-establish a five point lead over the reigning champions.

However, the title race is certainly not over as there are still 15 more games remaining in the Premier League, and manager Manuel Pellegrini is confident that his side will again be able to close the gap.

"When you have to play 45 points more, you can close the gap. Of course you can do it," City boss Manuel Pellegrini told ESPN.

Still, the Chilean boss insists that his side need to focus on their own Premier League fixtures so they can take advantage when Chelsea drop points.

"But is important for our team to try to be near the top of the table as soon as you can and the only thing you can do is to improve your performance, to repeat what we did in December and wait until Chelsea and all the teams drop points."

"The last two times this team won the title was coming from behind, so I suppose we can do it for a third time."

Meanwhile, Hull City will also be hoping to a positive result against Manchester City despite the odds being heavily against them.

The Tigers have not been doing well in the Premier League as they currently find themselves in the relegation zone (17th position), with only 19 points from 23 games.

Hull will certainly not be confident going into this game against the English Champions, having recorded back-to-back defeats in their last three Premier League fixtures against West Bromwich Albion (1-0), West Ham United (3-0) and Newcastle United (3-0).

But Tigers boss Steve Bruce feels that his side need to forget the past and focus on their upcoming fixtures.

"We have to get over the disappointment of last weekend (against Newcastle)," Bruce told Hull City's official website.

The former Manchester United centre-back feels that his side need to "eradicate the simple mistakes" that have resulted in their defeats in the last three fixtures.

"We've got to eradicate the simple mistakes that we're making because the last three games have seen some awful individual errors that have put us under the hammer."

Despite admitting that they will have no chance if they repeat the same mistakes at Manchester City, the 54-year-old boss is certain that the Tigers will be better on Saturday.

"If we make them at Manchester City, we have no chance. But if we can roll our sleeves up, show what we're about and rediscover a bit of form, what better place to do it."

"I hope we get a response from everybody because what we witnessed in the second half last weekend in particular was simply not good enough. We know that we have to be better than that."

Possible starting lineups:

 

Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Demichelis, Kompany, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Navas, Silva, Milner; Aguero

Hull City: McGregor; Elmohamady, Bruce, Dawson, Davies, Robertson; Livermore, Huddlestone, Quinn; Ramirez, Jelavic

Where to Watch Live

The EPL match is scheduled for 1:30pm GMT (7pm IST, 8:30am ET) kickoff. There will be no live coverage of the match on television in India, but viewers can watch the match online on StarSports.com.

The match will also not be telecast in the UK, but live audio commentary of the match will be available on TalkSport Radio. Catch the game live in the US on Westwood One Sports, while the action can also be live streamed online on NBC Sports Extra.

Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the game via live streaming online on Bein Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same on SuperSport online. Australia viewers can watch the game on Fox Sports and live stream it on Fox Sports on Demand.