Manchester City boss Mark Hughes admits he has a soft spot for this weekend's opponents Chelsea.

"I went to Chelsea to play at an exciting time for the club because they had just signed Ruud Gullit and they had tagged my name on to the back of his signing," he declared modestly.

"There were big changes being made and the club was going in the right direction. Even before Roman Abramovich became involved they were winning trophies and their influx of money came at a time when they were absolutely at a higher level than we are at this moment and people have to take that into account also."