Pearson's Chelsea Plan

And Pearson, who paid credit to the capability of the London club’s squad, insisted that City will play their own game and will not be pressured into putting in a defence-minded performance. 

He said: "Chelsea at Stamford Bridge speaks for itself. Their record there is very good but we have to think of this as something of a bonus. 

"Not many people give us much hope but we have a strong resolve. If we can be an awkward customer I'll be happy. 

"I don't want us to just soak up pressure. We need to give each other enough options to maximise our offensive players. We have some threats. 

“It will be a good opportunity for players to test themselves. We need a collective mind-set on the job in hand - the players have worked hard and it is important we do as well as we can. 

"I was very proud of the players and pleased for them last weekend. I've seen a lot of those players experience some lows.” 

Chelsea summer signing Cesc Fabregas set up two of his side’s goals in their 3-1 victory Burnley in their curtain-raiser on Monday night, but City boss Pearson was content to focus on the assets at his disposal rather than the opposition. 

He added: "I'm happy with the players I have but Cesc is clearly an outstanding player. We need to maximise what we have got and that is what it's all about. 

"We can't dwell too much on Chelsea's players - we know they have an outstanding squad. 

“There are some world class sides in this division and we come across a side that have real pedigree and know how. 

"We need to ensure the way we go about our game is good - Chelsea were very clinical at Turf Moor, it was very professional. 

"The players have conducted themselves exceptionally well. On the back of achieving promotion it was a testament to their qualities as a group of people. 

"Now it is a different chapter. I don't want to just draw a line and move on. Fundamentally what our players are about is if we maintain our strengths of last year, we have a good chance this year.”