Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that winning against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day will be "tough".

The Citizens are currently second in the Premier League, while Liverpool are a point ahead of them in pole position.

"It's going to be a tough game for both us and Liverpool but I hope we can continue to play the way we are at home – scoring lots of goals, but it will be tough," City's official website quotes the Chilean as saying.

"The most important thing for us now is to beat Liverpool and then we will look at the second match [against Crystal Palace]."

Arsenal could go back to the top of the table if they win against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Monday.