Jose Mourinho believes Chelsea have reached the moment of truth in their quest to be crowned Premier League champions.

The Blues held their nerve at the weekend to go seven points clear at the top of the table while Manchester City were beaten at Crystal Palace.

That seven point gap, coupled with a game in hand against basement boys Leicester City, means Chelsea need 15 points from their final eight fixtures to secure the title.

Mourinho is confident his team won’t blow it and is hoping to reduce that total to 12 points on Sunday when they travel to QPR’s Loftus Road for a west London derby.

He said: “Mentality is important because now is the moment where everything is decided -- for relegation, the Champions League places and the title.

Crucial: Loic Remy was on the scoresheet to beat Stoke

“You can do amazingly well for seven, eight, nine months, but the moment of truth always arrives and the moment of truth for us is get the wins we need to be champions.

“So to be mentally strong but, at the same time, be comfortable with the situation is very important.

“I think people are comfortable. I look at the players and see people who are relaxed to play these last two months - to fight for the title is the best motivation you can have in the game.”

Meanwhile, Diego Costa is hoping to return from his latest hamstring injury at Arsenal on April 26 but the Chelsea manager won’t risk the player again if the game comes too soon for him.

Costa will not take part in training with the rest of the squad at Cobham this week and instead work on building up his strength with the club’s physios in the gym.

poll loading

Will Chelsea win the Premier League?