• Premier League

Pellegrini: City will be frustrated if title lost

Manchester City lost further ground in the title race with their 2-2 draw at home to Sunderland © Getty Images

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Manuel Pellegrini insists Manchester City will be "very frustrated" if they don't become champions this season.

City, who have only taken one point from their last two games, trail leaders Liverpool as well as second-placed Chelsea and are outsiders in the three-horse title race.

But manager Pellegrini believes their performances this season would have made them worthy winners of the division even though they have rarely been league leaders.

And he feels his players will be just as irritated as him to see another side lifting the Premier League trophy.

"I think that everyone of us will be very frustrated if we don't win the league," he said in a news conference.

"Because if we were favourites to win the league it's because of the way we played the whole part of the year not because we were leading the table. If you review the table we were only top one or two times but, the way we have played the whole year, of course I think we would be frustrated if we don't win the league."

City, who are waiting to see if David Silva will be fit to face West Brom on Monday, are definitely without their 22-goal midfielder Yaya Toure.

They have also suffered this season when key players like Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho have been sidelined.

Pellegrini added: "I don't like to use this excuse, especially after you draw the last game and maybe you think that we have less chance to win the title. Never in this moment will I try to have excuse for those type of things. But we've had a lot of injuries."

However, there is some good news as centre-back Matija Nastasic, who has been out since early February with a knee injury that has bemused the club's doctors, has returned to training.

Pellegrini said: "He's working better this week. He works with the whole squad. I think that next week he will be ready to start work without any problem."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd