Head coach Liam Rosenior is confident Chelsea can put their Champions League push back on track against title-chasing Manchester City.
The west London club have endured a torrid two months, registering just five Premier League points from six games and crashing out of Europe following an emphatic 8-2 aggregate defeat to Paris St Germain.
Chelsea have not beaten City since a 1-0 victory in the 2021 Champions League final in Porto.
Rosenior insists the club’s 12-match winless run in the fixture is irrelevant going into Sunday’s Stamford Bridge showdown and will not change his approach as his team attempt to cut down on costly errors.
“Of course we can (beat City), we’re a very good team,” he said. “We’ve gone through a difficult run, even though in that run we were punished for mistakes.
“There were good moments, so when I actually analyse the games we’ve had we’ve caused every team we’ve played against problems but haven’t had the results for that.
“We need to make sure that we keep the back door shut. We need to not switch off, we need to not make mistakes because Manchester City will punish you.
“I still want us to go out and play our game.”
Enzo Fernandez scored a late equaliser to earn Chelsea a 1-1 draw against Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad Stadium in January, but the Argentine will miss out on the return fixture following comments on his future at Stamford Bridge.
That result came under the caretaker management of Under-21 coach Calum McFarlane while former Strasbourg boss Rosenior was in the process of becoming the permanent successor to former Blues manager Enzo Maresca.
“Of course I spoke to Calum when I first came to the club,” said Rosenior.
“I was actually watching that game in an airport, on a plane ready to come here to talk to the club.
“I thought their performance, especially in the second half, was outstanding.
“Obviously we know what a fantastic team Manchester City are, full of world-class players and an unbelievable coach.
“But we know if we put our game together, we get the game plan right, the mentality right, we can cause them problems.”