Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has claimed that it is "not always good" to win a title early.

Pep Guardiola's side could potentially be crowned Premier League winners by April 7 by beating arch rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.

As it stands, City have an 18-point lead at the top of the table having suffered just one top-flight defeat all season.

Gundogan has suggested that wrapping up the title early could spread complacency within the squad, despite the fact that they could have the Champions League to focus on.

"In my experience it's not always good, to lose one, two, even five per cent of having that pressure, game by game," the Manchester Evening News quotes Gundogan as saying.

"I don't know if it would be good to win the league that early. Obviously we want to win it and if we do, when that happens is not really in our hands, but you need rhythm, and to always play seriously.

"I'll give you an example - the second leg against Basel coming up, we dominated the first leg and won 4-0, but there is a second one to go.

"You should always try to play in a serious way. If you are able to win the league quite early, you can lose that seriousness for the Champions League, maybe. I don't know if it will be a good thing,but we will accept it when it comes."

City have nine top-flight matches left to play this season.