Pablo Zabaleta has claimed that Manchester City's impressive run of defensive displays has been crucial in their bid to be crowned Premier League champions.

The 29-year-old believes that the team are now as confident going forward as they are at keeping opponents out after City made it five consecutive clean sheets by beating Manchester United 3-0 on Tuesday night.

"Defensively we are keeping clean sheets, and that is something that has made the team better – we know we have enough quality up front to win games, and that we can score at any moment in games," Zabaleta told the Manchester Evening News.

"As a team we look really solid, and that is important at this stage of the season."

City return to action on Saturday against Arsenal.