Chelsea seek to arrest slide

Chelsea were unbeaten in their first 12 Premier League games, determinedly hanging on to the coat-tails of Manchester City and Liverpool

But if they lose to Pep Guardiola’s league leaders at Stamford Bridge on Saturday they will be looking at a yawning gap of 13 points — and it would be their third defeat in four league games.

Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso has urged his teammates to forget about the gap, which already looks ominously big.“If we lose we are going to be 13 points from the top and that’s a lot of points but we have to think, prepare for the game well and not pay attention to the table at the moment,” he said. “It’s the perfect opportunity to come back.”