Jose Mourinho has dismissed the possibility of complacency creeping in at Chelsea as the runaway leaders prepare to face the side which inflicted their most recent Premier League defeat.

Chelsea are six points clear at the top of the table after 12 games and unbeaten in 19 matches in all competitions this season.

Mourinho's side beat Schalke 5-0 on Tuesday to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League and travel to Sunderland today seeking to consolidate their position at the top of the standings.

It was the Black Cats who ended Mourinho's 77-game unbeaten home Premier League run in April in a bad-tempered meeting which remains Chelsea's most recent domestic defeat.

Some pundits and bookmakers expect Chelsea to romp away with the title, but Mourinho is adamant his squad will not get ahead of themselves.

"Complacency is not a risk we have," Mourinho said.

"It's not a profile of this group in this moment. We have all the other risks. The risks that belong to football - the risk of a bad period, injuries, unlucky matches, other teams growing up and becoming stronger...

"We were winning 5-0 against Schalke and (in) minute 88 Eden Hazard made a sprint to defend.

"There was a clear evolution and I don't think the group as a group can be complacent."

Mourinho denied complacency was a factor in the loss to Sunderland, which prompted an irate response from the Chelsea boss and his assistant Rui Faria, who was issued with a six-match stadium ban for criticising match officials.

He added: "I don't call that complacency. I call that other things. Lots of water passed already under the bridge.

"That match was impossible to win. But we move on."

So scintillating have Chelsea been at times this term that it is difficult for many to see how they can improve.

A link with Barcelona's Lionel Messi circulated on social media this week, but Mourinho dismissed that possibility.

"In this moment it's so easy to have non-truths circulating, it's so easy that some people put news without confirming (it)," Mourinho said.

"Obviously it's not true."

Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard have sparkled this season and been nominated for FIFA's team of the year.

Mourinho values collective honours over individual awards in a hint at the attitude which now prevails at Stamford Bridge.

"I think these kind of trophies are not good for football," Mourinho said.

"Sometimes it looks like we're looking for stars. We're looking for people more important than other people and this is not the culture we want in this club.

"The mentality here is not to be worried with that. And when I see Fabregas and Hazard, I think clearly they don't think about it.

"Clearly they think about the team, playing well and trying to win matches."

Mourinho has no fresh fitness concerns, with only young defender or midfielder Nathan Ake (hamstring) out.

The Blues boss has kept changes to a minimum this season, with his first-choice line-up well established.

But he praised those on the fringes for keeping him on his toes.

"From the ones that are not playing a lot, I don't have one single one that is not training very hard, that is not ready to help," Mourinho added.

"Life is easy when you are playing always and winning and feeling high in yourself esteem. Life is difficult when they are not playing, because a player was born to play.

"All these guys in my squad are for me absolutely fantastic. I'm so happy with them."

And Mourinho expects his side to continue to evolve and improve.

"There is much more to come," Mourinho said.

"We have a lot ahead of us. This team has all the conditions to be better.

"But I'm so experienced in this life that I'm not on the moon when I win, I'm not in hell when I lose. Balance.

"The players follow me in this. We are not jumping every day, we are not crying every day when things go wrong.

"We are very stable."