Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are unlikely to be spending big in the January transfer window and would be happy to complete the season with the present squad.

“I’m happy with what we have, I have confidence in the players,” the City manager said. “I’m not saying we won’t do anything in the window, you never know what might happen in a week or two, but at the moment we have no plans for a major signing. We can work with what we have and if we finish the season with these players that will be good.”

City travel to Hull City on Boxing Day, something of a novelty for a manager used to winter breaks. “This will be my first time playing through Christmas, I haven’t been able to sleep,” Guardiola joked. “Now we have put a couple of wins together we need to try and keep the run going, though of course all the other teams in the Premier League will feel the same. This is an important stage of the season.”

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City are seven points behind Chelsea, with the manager envious of the leaders’ consistency. “There is no secret about why they are so far ahead,” he said. “If you win 11 games in a row, take 33 points from 33, that is what will happen,” he said. “They take their chances, in the right moment they are there. When they played us we did not allow them too many chances, but they took them all and won. Our problem has been not creating enough chances. We have been dominating games but have had difficulty making openings and scoring goals.”

Bottom-of-the-table Hull represent a different challenge. Guardiola has been talking to some of his players about what to expect at the KC Stadium, but the coach has seen enough of lower table sides to imagine he will be in for a tough game. “What I have learned in my short time in England is that the gap between the clubs in the top half of the table and those at the bottom is not all that great. We will have to be prepared. I am not expecting an easy game.”

Fernandinho is back from suspension for the visit to the east coast, Sergio Agüero completes the last match of his ban, and Pablo Zabaleta will have a late fitness test.