David Silva backs Manchester City to put pressure on Chelsea in league

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/21/david-silva-manchester-city-put-pressure-chelsea

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David Silva has warned Chelsea they could slip up at Stoke City on Monday evening, and is confident Manchester City will continue to apply pressure in the title race after eradicating the London club’s lead over the past month.

Silva scored twice in City’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, with Yaya Touré adding the third, a sixth consecutive Premier League victory that drew them level with Chelsea on 39 points.

José Mourinho’s side lead only by a superior goal difference of one, though if Stoke are beaten a three-point advantage can again be established with both teams having played 17 matches.

“I feel it will be a tough game for Chelsea,” said Silva. “We know how difficult it is to play Stoke, at home and away, as they showed at the Etihad.” City were beaten 1-0 at home by Mark Hughes’s side in August.

Silva added: “We will focus on ourselves and hope they drop some points. We were eight points behind Chelsea a few weeks ago and now we have the same number of points, at least until they play on Monday, so maybe we can put a bit of pressure on them.”

City’s early-season wobble seems to be behind them and Manuel Pellegrini’s team have won the last eight matches in all competitions. “Big teams have to get used to this type of pressure, and we need to replicate it until the end of the season and win as many trophies as we can,” Silva said.

City’s next match is a Boxing Day trip to West Bromwich Albion before Burnley arrive at the Etihad two days later, then Sunderland’s visit on New Year’s Day to completes a busy festive programme.

“It’s the way the competition is, and in years past I have played on Boxing Day and 28 December, and haven’t lost a game,” said Silva. “It is difficult to do that and then raise your game again for New Year’s Day, but playing here you just have to accept that. We are looking forward to it. I will celebrate with my family on Christmas Eve – they always come here, and it is nice because I don’t see them in the whole year. The best celebration would be to win at West Brom. Christmas is better when you win so we are hoping for three points.”

Silva’s strikes against Palace came in a City XI lacking a frontline striker as Sergio Agüero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic are all injured and the 18-year-old José Ángel Pozo unavailable due to illness. “I am very happy for the two goals but I am really delighted because I have come back in the Rome game [in the Champions League]. What I love most is to play, so I just want to continue playing,” Silva said.

While Pellegrini is hopeful that Jovetic, who has a hamstring problem, and Pozo can be available for West Brom, Silva was comfortable operating behind James Milner, the nominal centre-forward.

He said: “I like to play in the middle, even though I can play on both wings. When I play in the middle I get chances to score, and that is why I scored the two goals. But I will be happy to help the team when the strikers are back. When you play against this type of team, who put a lot of men behind the ball, it can be good to play without any strikers, because the opposition don’t have any reference. It can be useful against this type of team.”

Of Milner, who was asked by Pellegrini to make runs to create openings for the side, Silva added: “Milly always contributes to the team. He is a complete player. He is a great player, and I am sure he will give a lot to England in the future.”