Hull City v Chelsea: Premier League is a five-horse race, says Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes the Premier League remains a five-horse race ahead of his side’s trip to Hull City on Sunday.

The Stamford Bridge outfit sit six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the division and hold a 10-point advantage over fifth-placed Liverpool.

Mourinho is quick to warn against complacency, but says being the hunted rather than the hunter has become a familiar situation for his players.

“It’s still a five [horse race] because the distance is still mathematically possible,” he said. “The reality is the distance between second, third, fourth, fifth is so short that I look at them and I see that things are open.

“We are in front. The advantage is significant but there’s still a long way to go.

“We are strong and confident, we believe in our capacity to stay there until the last match but we know we must fight against complacency.

“We have been chased since August, so it becomes normal for us this season to know the others are behind us.”

Hull have altogether different priorities, sitting just three points clear of the relegation zone and facing a daunting run-in that sees them welcome Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United to the KC Stadium.

But manager Steve Bruce is confident of picking up the points required to remain in the top flight.

“I’ve always said from day one that 10 wins is usually enough,” he said. “Looking at the table, I’m not going to be far short of that [currently six].

“It might be nine, it might even be eight.

“Over the last six games we’ve picked up nine points, which has been terrific for us. It’s got us out of the bottom three and given us a bit of daylight.

“Over the next nine games, can we repeat that? If we repeat that then it’s going to be very difficult for teams below us to match that.”

John Obi Mikel (knee) remains Chelsea’s only absentee, while Hull were hit this week by the news that Nikica Jelavic could miss the rest of the season following knee surgery.

The hosts could, though, welcome back Robbie Brady, who has been missing for three weeks with a calf injury, while James Chester (shoulder), Liam Rosenior (hamstring) and Mohamed Diame (knee) all returned to training on Thursday.

Tom Huddlestone is suspended following his sending off in the goalless draw with Leicester City last weekend.