Michael Essien insists Chelsea are favourites for the Premiership this season.

"For me, only Chelsea. Chelsea will win the title this year. Players like Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Deco are world class. As you can see in training and in matches, they can always change a game," said the midfielder.

"They're not the same kind of player. Everybody has his own style of play and they help the team a lot. We've got this mentality of winning. They've had it already. That'll be good for us. They're bad losers, like me. Everybody wants to win."