Liam Rosenior's side returned to action after the international break with a convincing 7-0 victory against Port Vale in the FA Cup, and now our attention switches back to the Premier League and the visit of second-placed City.

Finishing in a Champions League position remains our target, while Pep Guardiola’s side still harbour ambitions of taking the title off long-time leaders Arsenal.

Our No.10, who captained Chelsea for the first time in our FA Cup victory, knows just how important the top-flight fixture is to both sides.

‘The gaffer has said it needs to be a perfect week; everyone needs to be on it,’ stressed Palmer.

'Every time you win, it’s nice. Losing those four games was not good and it’s fair to say that confidence was down. It’s natural for it to go down. But the win [against Port Vale] meant everyone was happy and now we’ve got a clear week and we need to have a good game on Sunday.

‘We’re looking forward to it – it should be a good one.’

Chelsea’s chances of finishing the season on a high will no doubt be improved if Palmer is at his best.

And Saturday’s stand-in skipper is confident he can reach those heights in the final few weeks of the campaign.

‘I feel good,’ he said. ‘I feel I’ve turned a corner. Physically, I feel good now, I can shoot again, do everything again. Now it’s a case of kicking on and performing.’