(Reuters) - Manchester City must first negotiate a difficult encounter at Everton before they can dream of winning the Premier League title by beating neighbours Manchester United, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said.
Runaway league leaders City are on 81 points with eight games remaining and have a 16-point lead over United. Should they beat Everton, City can seal the title with a win over Jose Mourinho's side at the Etihad Stadium on April 7.
Belgian international De Bruyne, 26, is reluctant to look too far ahead and said that the trip to Goodison Park after next week's international break would not be a simple challenge.
"To go to Everton is a very hard game, we know that. They are probably already safe, so we will see," De Bruyne told British media.
Everton, who are ninth on 37 points, have won nine out of their 15 home games and Sam Allardyce's side are unbeaten in the last four matches at Goodison Park.
City are currently on a warm-weather break in Abu Dhabi after a 2-0 win over Stoke City last weekend. Pep Guardiola's side are not in action in the FA Cup, having crashed out in the fifth round after a defeat by Wigan Athletic.
They travel to Everton on March 31 after the international break and De Bruyne is hopeful his team mates will return without any injuries.
"It seems so long now to that game. I just hope everybody comes back healthy to play the last part," he added.
Meanwhile, De Bruyne hailed fellow playmaker David Silva for his impact throughout the season. The Spain international, who has eight league goals from 24 appearances in this campaign, netted both goals in the win over Stoke.
De Bruyne himself is enjoying a brilliant season with a league-leading 14 assists apart from scoring seven goals.
"David is unbelievable to play alongside, he's very underrated, and that means a lot considering his standards... I'd prefer it if he scores even more, it helps us," the Belgian said.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)
