City midfielder David Silva insists that his team can stop £32 million frontman Diego Costa when they clash on Sunday.
Costa has scored seven goals in four Premier League games since joining Chelsea from Atletico Madrid, but Silva is confident that the champions can become the first team to shut him out in the league.
‘Diego has made a huge impact,’ he said. ‘It is not easy to adapt but he has clearly done it very quickly.
‘He’s scored seven times so far so that record speaks for itself. That’s very important for Chelsea but not that good for us. But we’ve got a good defence and I believe we can stop him on Sunday.
City will also have to be wary of the creative abilities of summer signing Cesc Fabregas who has also made a brilliant start to the season.
‘I have a very good relationship with both players. I think Chelsea have made some fantastic signings this summer but our friendship will be set aside because we are going out to win.
‘I’ve known Cesc since we were 16-years-old and were in the Spanish youth squads together.
‘I’m looking forward to facing him but in pretty much every game now I seem to be up against a Spanish teammate – when we play Arsenal it’s Santi (Cazorla) or when it’s United it will be Juan Mata.
‘But it’s really all about how the team plays, and our aim as always is to go out and win the game.’
Costa’s form has propelled Chelsea to the top of the league and they can move eight points ahead of City if they win tomorrow.
Silva added: ‘We need to win because otherwise the gap would be getting too big between the clubs.’
Meanwhile, Manchester City boss Manuel Pelligrini believes that the death of Yaya Toure’s younger brother could be affecting the player’s form. The Ivorian was highly criticised for his poor performance against Bayern Munich in midweek.
And this followed a controversial summer where Toure accused his club of not granting him compassionate leave to see his brother who died in June.
‘Maybe some of you think it’s strange why he is not in the best moment,’ said Pellegrini. ‘But we started the season and maybe he had a lot of personal problems with his brother – not what was said in the media, but in what he feels about it.
‘There are a lot of human things and maybe that is why he is not in his best performance at the moment. I think as a team, as a coach, as a club we must support him because he is a very important player and makes a difference.
‘But he is always being criticised. It is very easy to say he should score 20 goals but must also defend and have better pace, but I don’t think Yaya has any problem. I’m sure he will return to his best.’