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Manchester City's hopes of remaining in the Premier League title race will hinge on how the defending champions negotiate the next five days with matches against Everton and Chelsea, midfielder Bernardo Silva has said.
City have 59 points from 25 games to sit three points behind league leaders Liverpool who were held to a 1-1 draw at West Ham United on Monday and Silva stressed the need for his team to capitalise when they meet Everton on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola's side, who could go top of the table for the first time since early December with a victory at Goodison Park, then host fourth-placed Chelsea on Sunday.
"We have two difficult games against Everton and Chelsea which we want to win. If we don't, it'll start getting difficult to fight for this Premier League," Silva told reporters.
City beat Arsenal 3-1 on Sunday in a strong response to last week's defeat by Newcastle United but Silva said there was plenty of room for improvement.
"We know we have to improve... sometimes we don't play as well as we want to. We have to improve that, to see which mistakes we are making," the Portuguese playmaker added.
"The atmosphere in the dressing room is fantastic, everybody is trying to help each other... so we want to be better players game by game, to try to be a better team and to try win some titles at the end of the season."
West Ham's Noble backs Liverpool to lift title despite blip
Premier League leaders Liverpool have the quality to end their anxious wait for a first league title since 1990, but must stick together to hold off champions Manchester City, according to West Ham United skipper Mark Noble.
A sluggish Liverpool were held 1-1 by West Ham on Monday to reach 62 points from 25 games, with their lead over City reduced to three points.
The draw followed a similar result for the Merseyside club against Leicester City last week and Noble suggested Juergen Klopp's side could be faltering due to their own high expectations.
"It's just that Liverpool want to win that league so much," Noble told Sky Sports. "They've got a great chance of doing it but the fans have just got to stick by them, keep supporting them because it is going to be tough."
"Especially when you're leading and you're top and everyone is chasing you and you know City are not going to rest for one game. You need to stick together."
"But I'm pretty sure they're going to be fine. They've got a fantastic squad of players and a world-class manager."
"It's going to be a fantastic end to the season to watch because there's going to be so many twists and turns."
