Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has backed Jose Mourinho's claim that Manchester City are favourites for the Premier League title.
Rodgers' side are currently second, trailing Chelsea by seven points. City are a further two points back but have two games in hand on Liverpool and three on the leaders.
Mourinho has regularly insisted that Manuel Pellegrini's men are favourites, even going as far to say he would rather have the games in hand than the points on the board.
Sorry Jose, Chelsea are as good as champions
If Mourinho takes a clear view, he might change his tune about Chelsea's prospects © Getty Images
Jose Mourinho has protested too much and Brendan Rodgers hasn't been much better. But the words of the Chelsea and Liverpool managers have more than a hint of weasel, writes Alex Perry.
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While urging his players to maintain their focus as they head for a key game against Manchester United on Sunday, Rodgers also stood by his former mentor with the title race entering its final phase.
"Jose is right," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo. "City have the power in terms of their squad.
"If they win their three games in hand they will go to the top and you would expect them to win those.
"I have never made a big push publicly about us winning the title. For me it's not about playing down expectations or mind games, it's really about taking a humble approach to the season.
"We have been letting our actions on the pitch do the talking and remaining dignified in our approach to everything. We've been looking to improve our performance levels and that's been getting better all the time.
"This is a club with huge expectations. It's not until you arrive here and you realise the sheer scale of the club.
"My job was to come in and build on the brilliant job Kenny Dalglish did and it's great to hear people talking about our style of football, winning games and our aggressive attitude in games.
"We want to continue on that road. There's still a long way to go but hopefully we're on course to put the club back where it should be. This is a club with big ambitions both domestically and in Europe."
Liverpool face arch-rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday and victory at Old Trafford will go a long way to cementing the Reds' position as title contenders.
"They are a very focused group," Rodgers said of his players. "They are very keen and very ambitious for the club to do well. I see that in their work every day. They are brilliant professionals.
"We have been terrific for the last 14 months or so and the club is on a real high. That's big credit to the players and all the staff, who are working tirelessly every day.
"Sunday is a game we are really looking forward to. For us it's about retaining the focus. We know it's a big game but we've done well in a lot of the big games this season."
