Chelsea<\/a> to be nothing short of a war, with the Citizens only having the Premier League left to concentrate on after being knocked out of the Europa League.<\/p>\nCity will go into the match with confidence after winning their last three matches against the defending champions, and with a place in the Champions League the priority for next season, both sides will be doing everything ensure victory against their rivals.<\/p>\n
A win for City will almost certainly end Chelsea\u2019s title bid, with many already believing that it is over. Therefore they would be doing their city rivals Manchester United a favour, but would also increase the gap between themselves and fifth-placed Tottenham.<\/p>\n
Despite everything that is potentially riding on the match, De Jong is looking forward to it, and determined to qualify for next season’s Champions League.<\/p>\n
Speaking to City\u2019s official website, the World Cup finalist said: \u201cThey\u2019re playing at home. They know what happened against us there last season, so I think they will come at us 200 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just have to make sure that we are focused enough to win the game. We\u2019ve just got to pick ourselves up and do our normal jobs. \u00a0We have to be prepared to go to war with Chelsea.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Europa League is gone now. But we\u2019ve got a new target, and that\u2019s the Champions League. So we just have to get our heads straight for the Chelsea game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although a top-four finish – and Champions League qualifying place – is likely for City this season, De Jong believes the club should be aiming not just for just fourth place, but for the highest position they can attain.<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cYou want to go straight into the Champions League without the need for a qualification game.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to finish at least third, which is the position we\u2019re in now. You never know what\u2019s going to happen in the first two places, but for us, the main goal is just to get a straight Champions League group stage place, which you get for finishing third.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former Hamburg midfielder went on to confirm that Italian striker Mario Balotelli apologised to the team following his red card in the Europa League tie on Thursday against Dynamo Kiev.<\/p>\n
He concluded: \u201cI saw him after the game. Of course he was apologetic. He was angry, he was disappointed as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d let his team down in a way, but he knows that himself. This is a good lesson for him, and we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\nManchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong preparing for a ‘war’ against Chelsea<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Ryan Benson 19 Mar 2011 11:47:00 EPL,Edwin van der Sar,Nigel de Jong,Manchester City vs Manchester United(Getty Images) Related Links Teams Players Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong is expecting Sunday\u2019s match at Chelsea to be nothing short of a war, with the Citizens only having the Premier League left to concentrate on after being knocked out of the Europa League. City will go into the match with confidence after winning their last three matches against the defending champions, and with a place in the Champions League the priority for next season, both sides will be doing everything ensure victory against their rivals. A win for City will almost certainly end Chelsea\u2019s title bid, with many already believing that it is over. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-321893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/p><\/div>\n