Hull City defender Curtis Davies is adamant that his side have to be at their best defensively to cope with the threat of Manchester City's attacking players.

The Citizens put in a dominant display in midweek as they put seven goals past Sheffield Wednesday, and Davies has warned his teammates that anything other than a flawless performance will be not good enough against Manuel Pellegrini's side.

He told reporters: "Always, against Manchester City, you have to be at your absolute best. But sometimes even that isn't good enough because of the quality they have.

"We saw it last March, when they came here and won 2-0. We had a good 15 minutes, they got their skipper Vincent Kompany sent off, and we were thinking, 'we might be able to do something.'

"Then up pops David Silva, who whips one into the top corner. They've got that moment of magic in five or six of their players and, when you have that, it's always going to be a worry."

Hull face City in their Premier League clash later today.