Pep Guardiola has claimed that Manchester City will use their Premier League meeting with leaders Chelsea as an 'important lesson to learn from' in the future.

The Citizens appear to be out of the title race heading into the final stretch of the campaign, sitting 11 points from the summit following a run of three draws in a row.

Guardiola believes that Chelsea are deserving of their comfortable advantage at the top of the division, which was reduced slightly at the weekend following a rare setback on home soil, but he is looking to derail their bid for glory in Wednesday's high-profile meeting in West London.

"Chelsea will be a big game and especially a big game away, it is important to learn from these kinds of games for the future," he told reporters. "They play less games, they have more time to prepare.

"But Chelsea will be in Europe next year and they have the quality to compete. Chelsea deserve to be where they are, they have won a lot of games and deserve their position."

City are now unbeaten in eight league matches under Guardiola - their longest run under the Catalan coach, albeit with half of those ending in draws.