Midfield architect Kevin De Bruyne admits Manchester City's preparations for Wednesday night's huge Premier League encounter with title rivals Arsenal will be no different to any ordinary fixture.
City, who booked their place in the FA Cup final with a comfortable 3-0 win over Championship promotion hopefuls Sheffield United on Saturday, will welcome the Gunners to the Etihad Stadium with the ambition of cutting their advantage at the summit to just two points. Arsenal's title charge has stalled in recent weeks, and they have drawn each of their last three matches.
Mikel Arteta's side staged a dramatic comeback against bottom club Southampton on Friday night, recovering from 3-1 down with two minutes of normal time left on the clock to draw 3-3. It means that City, who have two games in hand on the Londoners, are now the favourites to win the title.
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Victory at the Etihad will move Pep Guardiola's troops to within two points of the Gunners, highlighting the significance of scooping maximum points. But despite the sheer size of the contest, De Bruyne, who has racked up 26 assists in all competitions this term, insists the Blues will not approach it any differently.
"It makes no sense to get more hyped up for one game and not for another, because then it's too much up and down," said De Bruyne speaking at the launch of Nissan's 'Away Days' series. "You have to try and stay consistent, play on the same level.
"And you know, we know the importance for some games obviously is bigger than others. But the preparations remain the same."
Should City come out on top, they will instantly become firm favourites to go on and win the title. Nevertheless, De Bruyne admits they will refuse to get carried away.
He added: "You know, you have to go game by game and it's all about winning every game. And, you know, it's a hard task. But we will try to do it."
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