Will Chelsea now feel the pressure at the top?

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will be looking for his team to maintain their mental strength over the festive period

Manchester City defeated Crystal Palace 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium and moved level on points with Premier League leaders Chelsea, who face a tricky trip to Stoke City on Monday night.

The Blues have looked imperious for much of the season, but City have suddenly found their form and only trail the Blues on goal difference.

Form

Manchester City have now claimed six consecutive Premier League victories and eight consecutive wins in all competitions.

It is fair to say that Manuel Pellegrini’s side have now found form after an inconsistent start to the campaign.

The English champions also have a very favourable festive fixture list, with games against the likes of West Brom, Burnley and Sunderland to come in-between now and New Year’s Day.

Strong

Chelsea have looked very confident this season and are a lot of peoples favourites to claim the Premier League title this season. The Blues have looked the most complete team in the English top-flight this season.

In every area of the pitch Jose Mourinho’s side have looked strong this season. A few weeks ago it was hard to see any other team claiming the Premier League title this season. However, in the last four league games, the Blues have won two, lost one and drew one, which has enabled City to make up ground on Mourinho’s side.

Striker-less

Yesterday I talked about City’s lack of available strikers and how the Citizens may play without a recognised striker against Crystal Palace. City did just that with James Milner playing as the furthest man forward.

The formation worked for Pellegrini’s side, as Spanish midfielder David Silva scored a brace and a Yaya Toure goal were enough to give City a convincing victory.

City have a lot of quality attacking midfielders and players capable of scoring goals. The success of the striker-less system against Palace will likely lead to City playing with Milner in the same role over the festive period, if the likes of Steven Jovetic and Edin Dzeko do not recover from injury.

The win over Palace illustrates that even without their star striker Sergio Aguero City can claim comfortable victories, especially with the little Spanish magician Silva in good form.

History

Chelsea have been in this position before in previous seasons. Last season the Blues threw away a healthy lead at the top of the table and finished third in the Premier League table, with City nipping in late in the campaign to become champions.

Blues boss Mourinho is usually very good at keeping his player’s in the right frame of mind and is a master of mind games. The Portuguese boss stated last season that he did not think his team would win the title last season and he was right in the end.

However, he has not made any such statement this season, because Chelsea have looked like the dominant force in the English top-flight. The likes of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa have been fantastic signings and made a major difference for the Blues.

Chelsea will have to show all their mental strength to stay focussed, especially with the Blues still in so many competitions. Mourinho’s side certainly have the quality to compete on all fronts, but Manchester City’s form will just put slight doubts in the mind of those Chelsea players.

Favourites

Despite City going level with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, the league leaders are still favourites to win the title this season at odds of 1/ 2. Manchester City have shown great mental strength in recent years to win the title in two of the previous three Premier League campaigns.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side form has certainly picked-up in recent weeks and the Citizens will not give up their title easily. Their form has made the race for the title far more interesting.

Chelsea could put themselves three points clear at the top of table with a win at the Britannia Stadium on Monday night. The next few weeks will be a real test of Chelsea’s character and resources. If they come through it then they could very well be champions come what May.

Will Chelsea now feel the pressure at the top?