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LONDON. – Manchester City will have history in their sights when the English Premier League soccer title favourites face Swansea City tomorrow night, while their rivals despair of ever catching the runaway leaders.

Pep Guardiola’s side surged 11 points clear at the top thanks to a season-defining 2-1 win at second-placed Manchester United on Sunday. Nicolas Otamendi’s second-half strike clinched City’s record-equalling 14th successive league victory, forcing United manager Jose Mourinho to concede the title race is probably over.

City can hit a new high by beating Swansea at the Liberty Stadium to break the record they currently share with Arsenal for consecutive English Premier League wins. But Guardiola won’t let his side get carried away with 22 games still to play, especially with second-bottom Swansea fighting for their own survival.

“It means a lot in terms of the way we played for our confidence, but in three days we go to Swansea in the winter time. We are going to face a lot of difficulties,” he said.

“In December it is impossible to be champions, but that gap is very good for us.” United will look to bounce back from their first home defeat in 41 matches when they host Bournemouth. If United can barely see City sprinting off into the distance, the view for champions Chelsea and the rest of the chasing pack is even more dispiriting.

Third-placed Chelsea lag 14 points behind City after a shock 1-0 defeat at West Ham United, while fourth-placed Liverpool are 16 adrift following their frustrating 1-1 draw against Merseyside rivals Everton.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte claimed Chelsea were no longer in the hunt following their loss in east London and captain Gary Cahill admitted they must bounce back at Huddersfield Town tonight. But Huddersfield Town’s ability to close down opposition players and smother their creativity will make champions Chelsea cautious ahead of tonight’s Premier League clash at John Smith’s stadium, the hosts’ winger Tom Ince has said.

Third-placed Chelsea will be eager to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat by relegation-threatened West Ham United on Saturday but face a tough test against a Huddersfield side that have won four and drawn two of their eight home league games this season.

“I don’t think Chelsea or anyone fancies coming here,” Ince told reporters. “The way we get in people’s faces, we stop people playing. We win our tackles, we win our battles, we make it difficult for teams. “Chelsea have got talent in abundance. But we feel we can cause any team problems here. We beat Man United here – we deserved to beat Man United – and we ran Man City close.”

Huddersfield, who are 12th in the standings, beat second-placed Manchester United at home in October and their only two home league defeats came against leaders Manchester City and top four contenders Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp showed the strain of seeing his team’s faint title hopes go up in smoke in the derby as he grumbled about Everton’s penalty equaliser.

Klopp, whose team host West Bromwich Albion in midweek, was seen remonstrating with referee Craig Pawson after the final whistle before he fumed his way through a tetchy television interview.

Fixtures
Today: Burnley v Stoke City (9:45pm); Crystal Palace v Watford (10pm); Huddersfield Town v Chelsea (10pm). Tomorrow: Swansea City v Manchester City (9:45pm); Southampton v Leicester City (9:45pm); Newcastle United v Everton (9:45pm); West Ham United v Arsenal (10pm); Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion (10pm); Manchester United v Bournemouth (10pm); Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion (10pm). – AFP.