Following a relatively rocky patch in late October and early November, Manuel Pellegrini's side have found form of late - winning four consecutive games in all competitions.
That run of wins has seen them leapfrog Southampton into second place in the table, six points off Jose Mourinho's pacesetters.
City can also call on in-form striker Sergio Aguero, who fired a hat-trick in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Sunderland to keep his side within reach of Chelsea.
Aguero has 11 goals from his last nine Premier League outings - although Pellegrini was eager to talk up the impact of the Argentina star's supporting cast after victory at the Stadium of Light.
Yaya Toure, Fernandinho and Jovetic were the subject of praise from the Chilean with the latter keen to keep the heat on Chelsea.
The forward pinpointed last week's dramatic 3-2 win over Bayern Munich as a catalyst in City's mini-revival but urged his team-mates to maintain standards.
"That game helped us a lot," he told the club's official website of that UEFA Champions League triumph.
"Now we are in a very good moment but we must continue like this because we are playing every three days and that can change.
"So we need to give 100 per cent in every game and be behind Chelsea and expect them to drop points.
"We have more confidence because we had a bad period two or three weeks ago when we didn't play so well but now we're back and we feel good."
For Saturday's visitors to the Etihad Stadium, the weekend's clash offers a chance to end a frustrating period - capped by Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Hull City.
Having surrendered a lead to lose 2-1 at Tottenham on Sunday, Roberto Martinez's side again wasted a lead as Sone Aluko gained Hull a point at Goodison Park, with sections of the home support voicing their frustrations in the latter stages of the game.
Following a fifth-place finish last term, Everton have flattered to deceive at times this season and currently sit 11th but Martinez is confident his side can get back on track in their bid to break into the top four.
"Are we miles away from the top four positions? No," Martinez explained.
"We are six points away and you are looking at other teams fighting for the same aim and they are very close to us.
"I don't see that as a worry. We just want as many points as we can get to take us to the first third of the season and see where we are then and what we can fight for.
"It's been a very tough period for us but you didn't see a single player not giving 100 per cent [against Hull]."
Darron Gibson (knee), Steven Naismith and James McCarthy (both hamstring) are doubts for Martinez while his opposite number will be without skipper Vincent Kompany who remains some way off a return due to hamstring trouble of his own.
