Diego Costa urges Manchester City to "provoke" him

Chelsea hitman Diego Costa has warned Manchester City that he will punish them with goals if they plan on provoking him today.

The Spain international has netted seven times in four Premier League outings to help the Blues sit top of the table ahead of this afternoon's clash at the Etihad Stadium.

The 25-year-old's behaviour has drawn some criticism, after he appeared to taunt Seamus Coleman for scoring an own goal in last month's 6-3 win over Everton.

However, Costa, who hit 36 goals for Atletico Madrid last season, claims that opponents have long targeted his combative nature, and has urged City to do the same.

"They go looking for it," he told The Telegraph. "You've got to know how to manage these situations. The truth is I'm fairly relaxed. If they provoke me, I'll score against them.

"That happens here, it happened in Spain. Wherever I play, it'll always be like that. It's a perception people have of my character and people will look for any way to try to take advantage of it.

"The reality is, for the moment, that I haven't had any really physical battles. Things have been going well. So far, I'm enjoying it."

Today's clash between the two title favourites at Eastlands gets underway at 4pm.