Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan insists they can afford to lose at Liverpool today.

Gundogan, 29, knows defeat at Anfield will leave the champions nine points behind their rivals.

"There are so many games still to play," he says. "If Liverpool win, people will talk about how nine points is too many. If we win, people will say it's the start of the same charge we made last season when we overturned a big points difference to win the title.

"The truth is that it is far too early to tell. We have six months left to play in the most competitive league in the world and it just isn't possible to predict every result between now and the end of the season - just as people wouldn't have predicted every result so far!

"Only one point separated us last season and so it would be wrong to suggest that the result won't be important but it doesn't become more important than when we face Chelsea or Newcastle later in the month just because the spotlight is on this game.

"Liverpool are currently top of the league, but our fans know that we fight to the end, every game, every season; some of the club's greatest moments have come about this way, and so Sunday will be important, but nothing is decided in November."