EPL: Man City vow to silence Chelsea tonight

Two of the top three in the English Premier League — Manchester City and Chelsea —  meet in an eagerly anticipated clash at the Ethihad tonight  as the hosts look maintain their strong push for the title

Ahead of the epoch clash, Jose Mourinho has tried playing the mind game, suggesting that Man City have been lucky to  have benefitted from some game-changing decisions in recent weeks and would not be surprised if they score many goals tonight.

Mourinho has proclaimed City as title favourites and said they will be expected to score several goals when they meet his side at the Etihad Stadium.

“They are lucky,” he said. “The reality is they have many crucial decisions in their favour.

Pellegrini has refused to get embroiled in a war of words with the Chelsea boss  despite some provocative jibes, preferring to do their talking on the pitch.

There is no doubting City’s form. Pellegrini’s men have won 18 of their last 20 games — drawing the other two — and rattled in 115 goals in all competitions this term.

They seized top spot in the Barclays Premier League with a 5-1 win at Tottenham in midweek and bookmakers do expect them to claim a second crown in three years.

Despite their form, City’s Chilean manager has called on his players to deliver the kind of message that Mourinho will hear loud and clear — by moving six points clear of the Londoners in the title race.

“I think that the most important thing is to do your talking on the pitch when you play,” said Pellegrini, who insisted he will shake hands with his rival after snubbing him at Stamford Bridge in October.

“Every manager can do whatever he wants but, for me, I have my own way of doing things.

“I do not know what Mourinho has said about us and I have no comment to make about him. I always tell my players that it doesn’t matter who we are playing or whether we are home or away.

“What is important is that we try our best from the beginning, that we have a winning mentality and that we work well with and without the ball. In the last match against Chelsea we made a very important mistake and we lost the game.

“But we have improved since then. All the statistics say we are improving. But I have told the players that they must continue to improve.”