Chelsea great Joe Cole has issued a warning to his former employers ahead of the Champions League final against Manchester City later this month.
The two Premier League sides are set to go toe-to-toe in Porto for Europe's biggest prize, with the final having moved from Istanbul, in the second all-English affair in three years.
Chelsea may be considered to have an edge after defeating City in the Premier League this week, as well as overcoming Pep Guardiola's side in the FA Cup semi-final.
However, Cole does not believe that will have a significant impact on the game and believes that City are favourites for the tie.
“I don’t think it will play too much into what goes on. I think Man City start as favourites for the final because they’ve won the league at a canter but, on any given day, I think Chelsea give them trouble," Cole, who is supporting Budweiser's #SupportYourPubs campaign, said.
Cole also hailed the progress made by Chelsea since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard, stating: “It’s such an exciting time for the club. I was at the Champions League semi-final and, for the club to get to another final really shows where they’re at.
“There was a little bit of a rebuild but they’ve come back strongly. The young players have been tremendous. Mason Mount was different class, it’s exciting times for Chelsea and there’s some big games as well because they need to secure fourth place."
While City's title and Champions League football for next season is secured heading into the final week of the season, that's not the case for Chelsea - who have work to do.
The midweek defeat to Arsenal, accompanied by Liverpool's win against United, has left the west London side just four points above Liverpool with two games to play - but the Merseysiders still have a game in hand.
Chelsea face Leicester City in the FA Cup final this weekend, who they then face again in the Premier League before clashing with Aston Villa on the final day.
