Don’t take any notice of Stoke City’s last two results (two defeats) when it comes to their upcoming fixture against Premier League champions Chelsea.

The Potters are a different animal at home and Mark Hughes always seems to get his troops ready for one of the big teams when they visit the Britannia Stadium, just ask Arsenal and Manchester United who both failed to win at Stoke so far this season.

Antonio Conte will have to make sure his side are playing at their best this Saturday if they are going back to London with all three points to their name.

Chelsea have actually impressed with their away performances during this campaign. They’ve won both of their games away from home and that includes a vital victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.

Against Man Utd and the Gunners, Stoke gave away plenty of possession but those two sides weren’t clinical enough to kill the Potters off and they were also weak at the back and Stoke managed to take advantage of that.

There’s no doubt Stoke City get a real boost playing in front of their own fans but Chelsea need to try and take them out of the equation. To do that they will need to try and pick up a quick goal and then try and dictate things for the rest of the game.

New Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata seems to enjoy the physicality that the English game brings and he’ll need to be ready for the test he’ll get at the Britannia. The Spaniard needs to hold his nerve and use his nous in front of goal to grab any goal against a tough opposition.

In the other half of the field the Chelsea back three need to guard against complacency. Stoke showed against Arsenal that they can punish you on a breakaway and then soak up the pressure before seeing out the win.

The Blues won the league last term because they managed to grind out results on a weekly basis. Last week they dropped points against Arsenal and they won’t want to drop further behind the two Manchester clubs who are currently ahead of them in the table. So they’ll be determined to become the first club this term to come away with an away win at Stoke.

Last season Chelsea scored early and ended up beating Stoke City 2-1 at the Britannia and I’m pretty sure Conte would take that result again.

Having Eden Hazard in the squad, even if he starts the game on the bench, will be a big boost as he can make a huge impact as he can find space and create chances for the likes of Morata or Willian.

It will be interesting to see if Stoke go again with three at the back, knowing that Chelsea will have a fluid frontline with two players playing off their main attacker.

I am sure it’s going to be another tough encounter and while Chelsea have to be seen as the favourites they will have to work hard and take their chances if they are going to secure the win. No one will be surprised if the Potters manage to take another scalp at their home venue and that’s testament to their terrific home form.

Posted on September 23rd, 2017 by scott
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