Stoke City vs. Chelsea: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
All the talk isn't about football as Chelsea head to Stoke City on Tuesday for their Capital One Cup fourth-round clash.
Such is the situation at Stamford Bridge these days, instead we're discussing whether or not Jose Mourinho can see out the week and remain as the Chelsea manager.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes says he should.
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"He says it himself, he’s a top manager," Hughes said ahead of this fixture, per David Anderson of the Mirror. "He’s the best manager Chelsea have ever had so why would they change?
"It’s always that one of who would you replace Jose Mourinho with to get an uplift out of your club? It doesn’t ring true."
In order to strengthen Mourinho's position in west London, Chelsea need to remain in the Capital One Cup. And that means defeating Stoke on Tuesday.
The Blues are the current holders of this trophy. Because of that fact, we expected Mourinho and his players to chase bigger and better things this term, namely the Champions League.
With things the way they are, however, the goalposts have shifted. A defeat of any kind is only going to feed the negative headlines that surround the Blues, which is going to ensure this terrible start to 2015/16 is prolonged further still.
A cup run can act to reignite a season, which Mourinho knows all too well himself.
Chelsea need to change the conversation; they need a victory at the Britannia.
Match Details
Date: Tuesday, October 27
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT / 2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
TV Info: Capital One Cup Highlights (Channel 5, 11 p.m. Wednesday) / beIN Sports (U.S. only)
Live Stream: No UK live stream / beIN Sports Connect (U.S. only)
Last 5 Games
| Sept. 22 | Fulham 0-1 Stoke City |
| Sept. 26 | Stoke City 2-1 Bournemouth |
| Oct. 3 | Aston Villa 0-1 Stoke City |
| Oct. 19 | Swansea City 0-1 Stoke City |
| Oct. 24 | Stoke City 0-2 Watford |
| Sept. 29 | Porto 2-1 Chelsea |
| Oct. 3 | Chelsea 1-3 Southampton |
| Oct. 16 | Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa |
| Oct. 20 | Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Chelsea |
| Oct. 24 | West Ham United 2-1 Chelsea |
Predicted Line-ups
With this game coming so soon after their weekend Premier League fixtures, you would expect both managers to make considerable changes. Not so this time for Chelsea, it seems.
After another defeat on Saturday, the champions need a win at the Britannia Stadium, meaning Mourinho must field his strongest team.
That said, Pedro and Loic Remy are expected to miss out through injury, while Nemanja Matic is suspended.
As for Stoke, Ryan Shawcross should make his first start of the season after recovering from back surgery, but doubts remains over Bojan Krkic and Marc Muniesa.
Stoke City (4-2-3-1): Butland; Bardsley, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters; Whelan, Adam; Shaqiri, Ireland, Afellay; Diouf.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Ramires; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Diego Costa.
Key Players
Charlie Adam
Stoke will want to get at Chelsea on Tuesday and really test their nerve in midfield, where things have been far from convincing this season.
They have the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri, who can expose players with his skill on the ball, yet Charlie Adam may be the man who gets most joy on Tuesday.
Adam has excellent vision and can execute some wonder passes. Add to that his physicality and the Chelsea midfield will not be relishing coming up against the 29-year-old.
He has the ability to be a battering ram on Tuesday and can cause panic.
Kurt Zouma
When the chips are down for teams, we often look to the flair players as those who will make a difference. Coming up against a physical, aggressive Stoke side, though, Kurt Zouma's form at the back is going to be vital.
The French defender, 21, has filled in at right-back in the last two matches, and we can expect him to do the same at the Britannia Stadium on Tuesday.
Stoke have evolved their style under Mark Hughes, but the Potters remain capable of causing problems in the air and will want to intimidate Chelsea.
Zouma can't buckle out on the right, which remains a weak point for Chelsea.
Prediction
Stoke City 1-2 Chelsea
Odds
Home Win: 29/10
Away Win: 11/10
Draw: 12/5
First Goalscorer: Eden Hazard (7/1)
*Odds via Oddschecker
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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