Dennis Wise has challenged Chelsea to inject excitement into the Premier League title race with victory over Manchester City on Saturday.
Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea team host City - who remain unbeaten in the league this season - at Stamford Bridge in a game the hosts will be desperate to win after Tottenham and Wolves defeats put a dent in their own title ambitions in recent weeks.
Following the 2-1 defeat at Molineux on Wednesday night, Sarri admitted that Chelsea's current 10-point gap to City means they are out of the race for league honours this term.
However, should Chelsea beat City on Saturday, Liverpool could end the day at the summit providing they beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in the day's early kick-off.
And that is exactly what the title race needs, according to Wise, though the former Chelsea midfielder admitted inflicting a first league defeat on a dominant City side will not be easy for Sarri's men.
“It's a very tough game,” Wise told Standard Sport.
“They are two possession-based football teams and maybe it's a situation where he [Sarri] may have to give a little bit of possession to Man City and play a slightly different way or maybe he presses them and really goes for it. When he puts the team out it'll show you how he might go.
“[A Chelsea win] would be great [for the title race]. I'd be lovely but it'll be difficult because Man City are flying and they are a very, very good team. They're a top, top team.
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“They are the team that everyone wants to chase and they have so much quality.”
Dennis Wise was speaking as he launched the inaugural Sportsperson with a Personality Award, sponsored by kwiff - the only sports betting app where any bet could be supercharged. To view the full list of nominees and vote, head to: www.kwiff.com/swapa
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