Match Focus: Chelsea Aim for Revenge in the Battle at the Britannia
Stoke vs Chelsea
Jose Mourinho may have bought himself a little more time at Chelsea if the rumours are to be believed following a late win in the Champions League in midweek, but must now pick up points in the league. His side travel to the Britannia Stadium on Saturday looking to get revenge following their penalty shootout heartache in the cup against Stoke just over a week ago and need a win to arrest a run that has seen them pick up just 4 points from 5 games.
Stoke, meanwhile, sit one place and two points above the Blues in the league and will be aiming to keep it that way at the very least. However, after a run of 3 successive wins Mark Hughes’ side have disappointed in their last two league outings, failing to score and having Jack Butland to thank for yet another heroic performance against Newcastle last time out.
The most worrying feature of the Potters’ season so far has been an uncharacteristic one. Stoke have won just one of their 5 league games thus far, with only bottom club Aston Villa picking up fewer points at home. As a result Chelsea will certainly be aiming to pick up all three points at the Britannia this weekend, coming out on top against their opponents in each of the last 4 league meetings between the sides.
They still need more from their star players of last season in order to start moving in the right direction though, and none more so than Eden Hazard. The Belgian was benched again in midweek having seen his rating from WhoScored.com drop from a league high of 7.96 last season to just 6.93 this. His lack of form has resulted in a meagre season fair price of £3.18 at Buabook, and given he is not in Mourinho’s good books at present I’d be reluctant to buy shares in advance of that figure.
Stoke, meanwhile, need to find some goals from somewhere and could welcome Mame Biram Diouf back into the side with the striker having sat out of action in recent weeks due to personal reasons. He remains Stoke’s top scorer, having netted 3 times from just 6 league starts and should be back in the fold sooner rather than later as a result. A season fair price of £7.29 is modest but I would buy shares around that value regardless given a tough run of fixtures coming up for the Potters.
Given both side’s recent performances in the league it’s hard to see this game being a classic, or indeed separated by more than a single goal. Chelsea, nevertheless, should be regarded as favourites to win back-to-back matches in all competitions for the first time in 10.
You can trade the values of any of the players on display as Stoke host Chelsea with Buabook, the first player trading exchange based on detailed statistics
