Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech (left) punches the ball clear as team mate Granit Xhaka (centre) defends from CSKA Moscow’s Aleksei Berezutski in the Europa League first leg quarter-final in London on Thursday. The Gunners won 4-1. (Photo:AFP)

London: Manchester City can ease the pain of their Champions League defeat to Liverpool by clinching the Premier League title against bitter rivals Manchester United on Saturday in record time.

Pep Guardiola’s men will become the first team in the league’s 26-year history to wrap up the title with six games to spare if they beat United at the Etihad — a fitting end to a season of almost total dominance in the league.

City are 16 points clear of Jose Mourinho’s second-placed team so it is a matter of when rather than if they wrap up the Premier League title, the first of Guardiola’s reign in England.

The runaway leaders will be desperate to reassert themselves after their chastening 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions league quarterfinal at Anfield.

But the derby comes just three days before the return leg of their European tie and Guardiola faces a difficult balancing act, still believing he can overturn the Champions League deficit at the Etihad.

City’s Kevin De Bruyne knows staging their title celebrations while Man U are forced to watch is a delicious prospect for the club’s fans. After decades of living in United’s shadow, City have changed the balance of power in Manchester in their favour and are on the verge of their third title.

Guardiola has silenced the critics who claimed his purist principles would not work in the cut-throat Premier League, meshing his desire for a smooth passing style with an ability to compete physically.