Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti has taken a swipe at Rafa Benitez by dismissing the Reds as serious contenders for the Premier League crown this season.

Chelsea continue to set the pace domestically and top the table by two points going into their mouth-watering clash with champions Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s encounter coach Carlo Ancelotti couldn’t resist having a swipe at Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez and rulied out Liverpool's title chances this season.

The Reds have endured a tumultuous start to the new campaign which was compounded this week by a 1-1 draw away to Lyon which leaves Benitez’s men on the verge of elimination in the UEFA Champions League at the first hurdle.

The Reds are also a massive nine points behind leaders Chelsea and Ancelotti believes that that is too far a gap to bridge.

"We can't think about Liverpool at this moment because they are behind,” he was quoted as saying in The Sun.

"The title is not just between Chelsea and United. No, I think Arsenal have good possibilities to arrive in first place. Arsenal have a very good team.

"But we must concentrate on United. It's an important game. We will play the second team in the Premier League but it's just a game that carries three points like the others,” he added.

Meanwhile, the 50-year-old Italian vowed not rush into the transfer market despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport agreeing to suspend their FIFA-imposed transfer ban until a final decision is made in relation to their appeal.

With the Blues set to lose a crop of their African stars in January to the African Cup of Nations, the former AC Milan coach knows that he will need to bring in reinforcements to compensate for the departure of the likes of Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou.

"Now, thanks to this decision we have time to look for new players. But we don't want to take a decision in this moment,” he offered.