Stoke City vs. Chelsea: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Jose Mourinho will be missing from the Britannia Stadium as Chelsea take on Stoke City on Saturday.
He hasn't confirmed where he will be watching the game, but the Blues boss insists it will not affect his players too much as he serves a one-match stadium ban after being sent to the stands in the recent defeat to West Ham United.
"Basically, it’s an accumulation of experiences we are having together and with these players we are living together for two or three years," he explained.
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Mourinho's theory is that his coaching staff and the starting XI are that familiar with his methods they will know how to react without him on the sidelines over the 90 minutes.
"Even the players on the pitch know more or less when things are going in a certain direction, what is going to happen next." he continued. "Many times before the substitutes’ board goes up they know already basically what you are going to do. It is very rare to go completely out of context."
What's been out of context this season is Chelsea's form. They may be the champions, but they have lost six out of their opening 11 league games.
The latest defeat came at Stamford Bridge last time out in the Premier League when they collapsed against Liverpool, losing the game 3-1.
Ramires put the Blues ahead early on, but it was ultimately a dismal display all round. Chelsea are low on confidence right now, and that lack of belief has proved their undoing.
The champions are unable to react positively to any sort of setback, which must change if they are to take anything from the game against Stoke.
Defeating Dynamo Kiev in midweek hinted at a shift in perspective. That game was one of the few occasions when Mourinho's men have picked themselves up to go on and win a game after being pegged back.
Stoke offer an altogether different challenge, and to come through it, Chelsea will need to be much more than the one-man team they have been of late.
They need to win together, as Willian can't do it all himself.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, November 7
Time: 5.30 p.m. GMT / 12.30 p.m. ET
Venue: Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK only) / NBC Sports (U.S. only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only) / NBCSN (U.S. only)
Last 5 games
| Oct. 3 | Aston Villa 0-1 Stoke City |
| Oct. 19 | Swansea City 0-1 Stoke City |
| Oct. 24 | Stoke City 0-2 Watford |
| Oct. 27 | Stoke City 1-1 Chelsea (AET) |
| Oct. 31 | Newcastle United 0-0 Stoke City |
| Oct. 20 | Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Chelsea |
| Oct. 24 | West Ham United 2-1 Chelsea |
| Oct. 27 | Stoke City 1-1 Chelsea (AET) |
| Oct. 31 | Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool |
| Nov. 4 | Chelsea 2-1 Dynamo Kiev |
Predicted Lineups
Radamel Falcao and Thibaut Courtois are Chelsea's only injury concerns, with Branislav Ivanovic back to fitness after spending the past month out with a hamstring injury.
Given that Kurt Zouma has deputised at right-back in recent games, Ivanovic is expected to go straight back into the lineup.
As for Stoke, Shay Given and Marc Muniesa are sidelined. Geoff Cameron remains a doubt.
Stoke City (4-2-3-1): Butland; Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters; Whelan, Adam; Shaqiri, Bojan, Arnautovic; Diouf.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Diego Costa.
Key Players
Jack Butland
It's not often a goalkeeper can be seen as one of the key men before kick-off, but Jack Butland is standing out for Stoke right now.
The Englishman was excellent in his team's goalless draw with Newcastle United last time out, pulling off a string of fine saves to keep them in the game.
That performance came on the back of an excellent display against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup. Butland was inspired that night, keeping Chelsea at bay until stoppage time in the second half, when Loic Remy scored a last-ditch equaliser.
Butland didn't let his head drop, though, ensuring the game went to penalties after Chelsea dominated extra time. He then made the decisive save from Eden Hazard in the shootout to win the game.
After his performance that night, he may well have an edge over the Chelsea players.
Diego Costa
He was guilty of taking an horrendous tumble when through on goal in midweek, so for Chelsea's sake, Diego Costa has hopefully had a strong word with himself.
Chelsea were leading Dynamo Kiev 1-0 at the time, and had he scored, it would have put the Blues in a comfortable position.
Costa opted to claim for a penalty instead, which the referee correctly didn't give. With the score remaining 1-0 as a result, Kiev later pulled level. It was down to Willian to rescue a much-needed win with his sublime free-kick late on.
Chelsea are showing signs of pulling together. Their performances are getting better, yet until Costa rediscovers his clinical edge, they're not going to put teams away in the way they should.
If the champions are to get anything against Stoke, they need Costa firing.
Prediction
Stoke City 1-2 Chelsea
Odds
Home Win: 11-4
Away Win: Evens
Draw: 12-5
First Goalscorer: Diego Costa (4-1)
Odds via Odds Shark and Oddschecker
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
