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City went back to the top of Premier League after beating Burnley 1-0 on Sunday. With just a point ahead of Liverpool and two games apiece remaining, City is condemned to win all remaining games to be champions.
John Stones believes experience in the Manchester City dressing room could prove crucial as they look to see off the challenge of Liverpool and retain the Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola's side will achieve that feat if they win their final two games against Leicester at home and Brighton away, but with Liverpool just a point behind, they cannot afford to slip up.
This season's close title race is in stark contrast to last year, when City won the title with five games to spare and went on to finish a record 19 points clear of their nearest rivals, Manchester United.
"It's a different scenario, last season the league was done by now," said Stones.
"It's a strange situation because some of us haven't been in this situation before.
"I think Vinny (Kompany) said that these are the times when it brings the best out of you as a player, but him as a player, David (Silva), Sergio (Aguero) and a few of the others have been in this situation before.
"They know what the feeling is, how to get the best out of it.
"We've got to be guided by those and try to take everything in. It makes everything exciting, keeps everyone on our toes.
"If you ask me if I'd prefer to win it like last season, I'd say yes, but the situation we are in we're really enjoying, trying to go with the flow, take everything in and keep putting the performances in.
"I wouldn't say it's keeping us motivated - because everyone is motivated to win and lift the Premier League - but it's making us hungrier to keep winning, keep the pressure on and keep fighting until we can't any more.
"It's exciting to be part of it."
Stones feels winning another title would be more special than last year's success, not because of the tight race, but because it would make City the first team to win two in succession for a decade.
"It'll be special because it will be back to back, not because we've been pushed by Liverpool," he added.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool were sent back to 2nd place of the Premier League table after City beat resolute Burnley 1-0 on Sunday. Liverpool would strive to win their remaining two games and hope that would slip and drop points.
However, Liverpool face an onerous task of overcoming Barcelona FC in their Champions League 1st leg fixture which comes up tomorrow at Camp Nou.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk wants to erase the memory of his only other appearance at the Nou Camp when Liverpool face Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
The newly-crowned Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year was a member of the Celtic team humiliated 6-1 in December 2013 - they were 6-0 down after 72 minutes - with Lionel Messi not even playing.
There is no chance of Messi being absent on Wednesday night, with the Argentina international handed generous periods of rest by coach Ernesto Valverde in the games leading up to the first leg, but Van Dijk is still relishing the prospect.
Van Dijk rules out Ballon d'Or talk
'Van Dijk best Reds defender I've seen'
"It is a nice stadium, an historic stadium and for me it was a great experience to play over there," he said.
City went back to the top of Premier League after beating Burnley 1-0 on Sunday. With just a point ahead of Liverpool and two games apiece remaining, City is condemned to win all remaining games to be champions.
John Stones believes experience in the Manchester City dressing room could prove crucial as they look to see off the challenge of Liverpool and retain the Premier League title.
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| John Stones says it is exciting to be part of such an enthralling Premier League title race |
Pep Guardiola's side will achieve that feat if they win their final two games against Leicester at home and Brighton away, but with Liverpool just a point behind, they cannot afford to slip up.
This season's close title race is in stark contrast to last year, when City won the title with five games to spare and went on to finish a record 19 points clear of their nearest rivals, Manchester United.
"It's a different scenario, last season the league was done by now," said Stones.
"It's a strange situation because some of us haven't been in this situation before.
"I think Vinny (Kompany) said that these are the times when it brings the best out of you as a player, but him as a player, David (Silva), Sergio (Aguero) and a few of the others have been in this situation before.
"They know what the feeling is, how to get the best out of it.
"We've got to be guided by those and try to take everything in. It makes everything exciting, keeps everyone on our toes.
"If you ask me if I'd prefer to win it like last season, I'd say yes, but the situation we are in we're really enjoying, trying to go with the flow, take everything in and keep putting the performances in.
"I wouldn't say it's keeping us motivated - because everyone is motivated to win and lift the Premier League - but it's making us hungrier to keep winning, keep the pressure on and keep fighting until we can't any more.
"It's exciting to be part of it."
Stones feels winning another title would be more special than last year's success, not because of the tight race, but because it would make City the first team to win two in succession for a decade.
"It'll be special because it will be back to back, not because we've been pushed by Liverpool," he added.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool were sent back to 2nd place of the Premier League table after City beat resolute Burnley 1-0 on Sunday. Liverpool would strive to win their remaining two games and hope that would slip and drop points.
However, Liverpool face an onerous task of overcoming Barcelona FC in their Champions League 1st leg fixture which comes up tomorrow at Camp Nou.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk wants to erase the memory of his only other appearance at the Nou Camp when Liverpool face Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
The newly-crowned Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year was a member of the Celtic team humiliated 6-1 in December 2013 - they were 6-0 down after 72 minutes - with Lionel Messi not even playing.
There is no chance of Messi being absent on Wednesday night, with the Argentina international handed generous periods of rest by coach Ernesto Valverde in the games leading up to the first leg, but Van Dijk is still relishing the prospect.
Van Dijk rules out Ballon d'Or talk
'Van Dijk best Reds defender I've seen'
"It is a nice stadium, an historic stadium and for me it was a great experience to play over there," he said.
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