Manchester City midfielder David Silva has expressed his belief that Chelsea will face a huge test of their Premier League title credentials when they play Stoke City.

Manuel Pellegrini's side joined the Blues at the top of the table on 39 points following their 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, recovering from an eight-point deficit they faced just weeks ago.

Silva feels that Jose Mourinho's men are under huge pressure to maintain their lead after dominating the league for the first five months of the campaign.

"We were eight points behind Chelsea a few weeks ago," Silva told reporters. "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.

"I feel Stoke will be a tough game for Chelsea. We know how difficult it is to play Stoke, at home and away, as they showed at the Etihad when they beat us. We'll focus on ourselves and hope they drop some points.

"Big teams have to get used to this type of pressure, and we need to replicate it until the end of the season and try to win as many trophies as we can."

City are next in action in the Premier League on Boxing Day against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.