Paul Dickov believes the closely fought nature of this season’s Premier League title race will bring out the best in Manchester City.

Goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan earned Pep Guardiola’s men a 2-0 win away to Burnley on Saturday afternoon, helping to regain top spot in the process.

Liverpool’s home win over Watford in the early kick-off had temporarily moved the Reds above City, but we remain one point above Jurgen Klopp’s men heading into next week’s showdown at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking on Matchday Live following our Turf Moor triumph, former City forward Paul Dickov explained how our experience in previous title battles will stand us in good stead.

He said: “Everybody who was out there is a Premier League Champion, they know how to win the league.

“They’ve done it coming from behind a couple of seasons ago and they’ve done it leading from the front.

“Nothing will faze them, the pressure from the outside with people saying the momentum is with Liverpool won’t bother them, if anything it drives them on a little bit.

“There are eight games to go and if any team can and win all of those games, it’s Manchester City.

“We’ve done it every single season for the last few seasons and I know we’ve got Atletico first but going into the Liverpool game, I can’t wait.”

Our 2-0 win over Burnley also saw Aymeric Laporte set a new Premier League record, with the defender’s 254 points more than any other player after a century of appearances in the competition.

And Dickov was quick to congratulate the Spaniard on his latest achievement, hailing the influence that the defender has on the team.

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He said of Laporte: “He’s not just a great defender, he’s a wonderful footballer too.

“A lot of our attacks start with him passing between the lines.

“He’s got the big diagonal in the bag and he chips in with a lot of important goals too.”

It shows you how consistent he is. The quality of the central defenders is so good,” fellow Matchday Live guest Shaun Goater added.

“I’m just thinking these guys’ levels are so high. I think it’s amazing that we have the quality of players that we have.”