Jose Mourinho insists the league is Manchester City’s to lose this season and that it would be his finest triumph if he leads Chelsea to the title.

The two sides are separated by just one point in the table and are expected to be leading the battle for the title with Arsenal as strong contenders.

Chelsea have already beaten City at home in October and the crucial return match at Etihad Stadium is just three weeks away.

Unlike his counterpart Manuel Pellegrini, Mourinho knows what it takes to win silverware in this country having guided Chelsea to five major trophies between 2004-07, including championships in 2005 and 2006.

But he is adamant Pellegrini has a significant advantage due to the talent in City’s squad.

He said: “At Chelsea, it would be my greatest achievement if we beat them to the title this year. We were champions before but we were the team to be champions, to attack the title, especially in our second season when we killed it from day one.

“This is a team in development and if you win titles in this time, it is not handed to you. It would be a super achievement. But we are not worried about that right now, just thinking about improving every day.

“City, in terms of power of the squad, are in another dimension. You can’t compare their situation with any other club. Some people disagree or some managers feel they shouldn’t say it but I say what I feel. City are different.

“It’s not about having quality players, other clubs also have quality. But Man City are in the perfect moment. They don’t have old players or young players — the only young player is Matija Nastasic and he plays sometimes. After that all of them are between 25 and 29, everyone in the best moment.

“The number of players they have at the same level is amazing. The physicality adapted to the Premier League is amazing. They have a couple of players that are smaller and very talented but they have a number in the team that are big physically.

“They have four strikers, all of them are top class and the one on the pitch is always scoring.”

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Sheikh Mansour has invested in excess of £1billion over the past six years to turn City into a major force in much the same way Roman Abramovich has following his takeover of Chelsea in 2003. But while Chelsea have won 11 trophies in as many years under the Russian multi-billionaire, City have only one League title and an FA Cup since 2008.

They have also heavily underachieved in Europe, with this season being the first they have even reached the last 16 of the Champions League.

But Mourinho feels it is an example of how money cannot guarantee success and said: “I think they have to do the same thing Chelsea did. Chelsea won three Leagues in six years, the Double, many FA Cups, Champions League semi-finals and finals.

“If they don’t do that it’s because football is football but they built a team for that with huge investment for three-four consecutive years, transfer window after window, improving their squad. They are in another dimension, but football is more than that and because of that no one knows what is going to happen.”

Jose Mourinho is supporting Chelsea Soccer Schools which provide opportunities for players of all abilities in the South-East. The courses are available for both boys and girls and promote the Chelsea Foundation’s values of fair play and respect in a fun and enjoyable enviroment. www.chelseafc.com/soccerschools