TV pundit and former Arsenal forward Charlie Nicholas believes that Manchester City are capable of pipping Chelsea to the Premier League title.

Antonio Conte’s side are favourites for the crown as they currently have a five-point lead and suffered just one defeat in their last 14 top-flight matches.

City reside seven points adrift in fourth place after 20 games, and manager Pep Guardiola still seems to be struggling on what his best team is.

Despite the North-West outfit being just off the pace in the title race, Nicholas believes that the two-time Premier League champions are capable of climbing up the table, but only if they buy new players this month.

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The defence has been heavily criticised this season, with Nicolas Otamendi not seeming up to par, while John Stones is still finding his feet following his summer move from Everton.

City are also struggling in the full-back positions, with Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov disappointing in the first half of the season.

Nicholas, though, believes that if Guardiola can rectify the issue by bringing in new signings this month, they are well within a shot of title glory. He told Sky Sports:

“I think Pep Guardiola will definitely hit the market and if he does improve his defence then I'm going to stick with them.

“My only concern is that he is as stubborn as me in my prediction and he clearly doesn't see the problem with [goalkeeper] Claudio Bravo, who is struggling. He also needs to bring some full-backs in and a top central defender.”

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