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Tuesday 30 April 2019 06:06, UK
John Stones believes experience in the Manchester City dressing room could prove crucial as they look to see off the challenge of Liverpool and retain the Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola's side will achieve that feat if they win their final two games against Leicester at home and Brighton away, but with Liverpool just a point behind, they cannot afford to slip up.
This season's close title race is in stark contrast to last year, when City won the title with five games to spare and went on to finish a record 19 points clear of their nearest rivals, Manchester United.
"It's a different scenario, last season the league was done by now," said Stones.
"It's a strange situation because some of us haven't been in this situation before.
"I think Vinny (Kompany) said that these are the times when it brings the best out of you as a player, but him as a player, David (Silva), Sergio (Aguero) and a few of the others have been in this situation before.
"They know what the feeling is, how to get the best out of it.
"We've got to be guided by those and try to take everything in. It makes everything exciting, keeps everyone on our toes.
"If you ask me if I'd prefer to win it like last season, I'd say yes, but the situation we are in we're really enjoying, trying to go with the flow, take everything in and keep putting the performances in.
"I wouldn't say it's keeping us motivated - because everyone is motivated to win and lift the Premier League - but it's making us hungrier to keep winning, keep the pressure on and keep fighting until we can't any more.
"It's exciting to be part of it."
Stones feels winning another title would be more special than last year's success, not because of the tight race, but because it would make City the first team to win two in succession for a decade.
"It'll be special because it will be back to back, not because we've been pushed by Liverpool," he added.
"I think it's better for the football fans in general that it's gone so late in the season and nobody has won it yet. We could be fighting right down until the last game.
"But for me I'd say it'd be more special as it would be back to back. That's so difficult to do."