Daniel Sturridge wants to show Chelsea can still compete with Manchester United when they host the champions at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Striker keen to lay down marker against United
Daniel Sturridge wants to show Chelsea can still compete with Manchester United when they host the champions at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Chelsea are unbeaten in 2012 and have lost just one of their last 11 league matches.
But that run includes disappointing draws against promoted clubs Swansea and Norwich in Chelsea's last two Premier League outings.
And Sturridge knows the club need to start turning draws into wins if they are to close the gap on the leaders.
"Of course, against teams that aren't in the top six we want to be winning every single one of those games, if you maybe win four and then draw one that's okay," Sturridge told the club's
official website.
"We haven't been as consistent as we would have liked but we're in a progressive stage where all the teams are improving.
"The mood in the camp is very good and everybody is looking forward to going out there and showing what they can do.
Unfortunate
"We played some great football against Swansea, we had some good chances and it was just unfortunate we didn't get the win."
Chelsea currently trail the leaders by 12 points and the club appear to be in a battle for the fourth Champions League spot rather than a title race.
But Sturridge still feels Chelsea are a major force in English football and does not think this is something that changes overnight.
"We are a big club, and I don't think anybody should forget that," added Sturridge.
"Just because we have had a bit of a bad spell and we haven't been winning as frequently as we have in the past, I think people are doubting the credibility of Chelsea which they should never do.
Great club
"We're a great club, and we are going to go out there on Sunday and prove to everybody that we can still compete with the likes of Manchester United.
"We've already shown by beating Manchester City that we can still mix it with the top two and we will be going out there on Sunday to show what we're about."
Sturridge is enjoying a productive season on a personal level, having added 10 goals for the club this season from his less favoured wide role.
"I can't score in every game because it's difficult from that position," acknowledged Sturridge. "But hopefully I can carry on producing my fair share of goals and keep getting assists as well.
"It's good that I'm scoring goals, that's what I love doing, I love scoring goals that help the team win games and that's what I'll be striving to do, I want to score as many as I can in order to help us climb the table."
