Chelsea forward Demba Ba has claimed that now is a good time for his side to take on reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

The teams meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and Chelsea can move to within just one point of the Citizens with a victory.

City have not won in three matches and they are now 12 points behind league leaders Manchester United.

"We know this is not the best time for Man City at the moment and we're going to try and take advantage of that," said Ba. "It is going to be difficult to catch Manchester United because they are so many points clear from City.

"I don't see them losing that many points but we're just going to try and win the maximum possible and see where we will be at the end of the season.

"We can put pressure on City and if you beat big clubs you take more confidence so this is the objective."

Ba has scored three goals in 10 appearances since joining Chelsea from Newcastle United in January.