Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that he is not concerned by his side's nine-point deficit to Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title.

The Citizens can close the gap to six points with victory over Southampton in their Premier League clash on Sunday, which comes after a confidence-building win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek.

Pellegrini believes that City are not worried about the title race because of their experience last season, as they came through the pack to claim their second Premier League crown following a slow start to the campaign.

"Every time you beat an important team like Bayern, the confidence and trust of the squad rises," Pellegrini told reporters.

"At this moment last year, we were six points behind Arsenal and no one was talking about us. We were fourth or fifth and everyone was saying Arsenal were the team who were going to win the league - and at the end they were fourth."

City are currently third in the Premier League, with 24 points from their 12 matches this season.