London - Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has conceded the struggling English champions face a battle just to finish fourth in this season's Premier League.
City's hopes of a successful title defence had all but evaporated before Sunday's derby and a 4-2 defeat by Manchester United left Manuel Pellegrini's men 12 points behind leaders Chelsea, who have a match in hand, with just six games left to play.
But a sixth defeat in eight games in all competitions left them in fourth place and knowing they cannot afford to slip any lower if they are to play in next season's Champions League.