Former England and Manchester City defender Micah Richards refused to write off defending champions City's chances of retaining the English Premier League (EPL) trophy despite a poor start to the season.

City had to claw back from a 10-point deficit last season to beat Liverpool by one point for the EPL title. And once again, they find themselves nine points behind title rivals with 12 games played following their 1-3 defeat to leaders Liverpool (34 points) two weeks ago.