Chelsea looks to deny City any festive cheer

 Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas celebrates after scoring the second goal during their English Premier League soccer match against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, northern England December 22, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

The omens are good for a Chelsea side heading into Christmas top of the English Premier League tree but manager Jose Mourinho does not want to give title rival Manchester City any reason to cheer over the festive season.

Having beaten Stoke City 2-0 away on Monday, the London club ensured it went into a busy fixture schedule leading the table with 42 points from 17 matches.

The last three times Chelsea has been top on Christmas Day it has gone on to win the title, but with in-form City hot on its heels three points behind, Mourinho is taking nothing for granted with testing matches to come.

Sam Allardyce's fourth-placed West Ham United travels to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge tomorrow before Mourinho's men head to Southampton on Sunday and then travel across London to face Tottenham Hotspur on New Year's Day.

"Now we have to focus on the three matches we still have until the end of this period," Mourinho told reporters after the victory at Stoke.

"Playing against Big Sam is a hard job for us, we have to cope with it. The three-point lead we have is a little advantage, it is a little pillow we have to protect us.

"We have been top of the league since day one and we are there because we are playing really well. Our Christmas fixtures are more difficult than any other one (club)."

Second-placed City travels to West Bromwich Albion in search of a seventh straight league win but it is still without injured striking trio of Stevan Jovetic, Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero.

Captain Vincent Kompany is also missing for Manuel Pellegrini's side but midfielder David Silva, having scored twice in City's 3-0 home win over Crystal Palace last weekend, is ready to strike against struggling West Brom.

"I like to play in the middle, even though I can play on both wings," Silva said. "When I play in the middle I get chances to score. That is why I scored the two goals. But I will be happy to help the team when the strikers are back."

Having won six successive league matches, City has closed the gap on Chelsea but Pellegrini does not think the next few weeks will define the champion's season.

"We are not thinking about Chelsea," Pellegrini said on Tuesday. "We are just thinking about our team. We know it is important to have our own pressure. You never win the title in December.

"We have a long five months to continue playing as well as we are doing so far and we will see at the end of the season which team has most points."

City can take heart from claiming two titles in three seasons, but Pellegrini doesn't think that will give his side an edge against Chelsea, which last won the prize in 2010.

"It is always hard to win, the first time and the second time," he said. "I think there is the same degree of difficulty from one year to another."

Elsewhere tomorrow, third-placed Manchester United, whose progress up the league was slowed with a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa last weekend, hosts Newcastle United while Arsenal welcomes Queens Park Rangers to the Emirates.

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