Villas-Boas: Chelsea must not lose to City

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas says winning the Premier League will be difficult if they lose to Manchester City on Monday.

The Blues have fallen off the pace domestically despite qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League – a feat both City and Manchester United have failed to achieve this season.

If the west London side lose at Stamford Bridge they will fall 13 points behind the league leaders, and Villas Boas acknowledges this will be a tough deficit to overcome.

“We continue to challenge for the Premier League if we win or if we draw,” Villas-Boas said.

“But the Premiership becomes extremely difficult if we lose because 13 points away would be something (worse) than what is already a big, big distance.”

“There will be no quitting. It’s not impossible to recover, but that’s a reality.”

“We all agree at the moment that Tottenham and Man United are the teams up there challenging.”

Chelsea have won three of their last four matches 3-0, but their manager is aware that Roberto Mancini’s side will be favourites on Monday due to their recent form and being still unbeaten.

“They are going to put on a massive, massive challenge for us,” Villas-Boas said.

“When you see a leader of this dimension, there’s not a good time to play them. They are outstanding, week in, week out.”

“They understand the importance of this game as well, and if they get the result that they want, which is win.”

“I’m sure they will play to gain the three points – they will come out almost with the assurance that their Premiership title is at least with one team less in the running.”

“I think it’s fair for us to see how it is after all the December fixtures, but the further they go on in the lead with the amount of wins they have been having, the further they believe that this can be their year.”

Despite dominating the Premier League, the two Manchester clubs will play Europa League football for the remainder of the season, however Villas-Boas rejected the notion that it improves his side’s chances in the Champions League.

“I really don’t know if the Manchester clubs playing in the Europa League gives us an advantage,” he said.

“I don’t think it changes a lot. But a win would mean a return to consistency in terms of results. We could finally say that we got our run back.”