Stoke City V Chelsea

Stoke City V Chelsea

Kick-Off: Saturday 12^th September – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The Brittania Stadium

Stoke City

League Position: 5th

Recent Form: WLDW

Stoke City have made a very good start to life in just their second Premiership season, winning two of their opening four fixtures. Victories over Burnley & Sunderland have helped to lift Stoke into the upper tier of the table, with The Potters currently happily acquainted with the leading pack in fifth position. However,their more than reasonable start to the season could be dealt another setback as league leaders Chelsea come to The Brittania stadium. A team Stoke lost twice to last season, both at home and away.

Tony Pulis has put together a very strong and able side, capable of giving any side a rough ride. However, their most recent encounter against one of the so called ‘Big Four’ didn’t go accordingly, with Stoke crashing to a 4-0 defeat away to Liverpool. The fact that this is a home fixture will mean Stoke have more of a chance of sneaking a result here but we still can’t see Stoke getting much out of this game, despite their loyal fans doing their utmost to urge Stoke forward.

Tony Pulis might have to contemplate starting without James Beattie upfront as the former England striker is recovering from a recent knee injury. However, he is winning his battle to regain fitness in time for this clash with Chelsea and he will be a massive boost to Stoke’s chances if he does make a starting appearance. However, he and many others have struggled to find the net, with Stoke scoring just three goals in their opening four games, not good.

Chelsea

League Position: 1st

Recent Form: WWWW

Chelsea had made the perfect start to the season, we say had because Chelsea were dealt one hell-of-a blow last week when FIFA imposed a two transfer window ban on buying any players. We won’t delve into the whole transfer saga but it now leaves Carlo Ancelotti pondering how his Chelsea side will cope without the likes of Didier Drogba & Michael Essien, amongst others, when some of Chelsea’s key players head off to Africa for the African Cup of Nations after Christmas. Ancelotti won’t have the luxury of being able to purchase any potential replacements and now the doubts will rise about whether Chelsea actually do have a strong enough squad to cope with the harsh ban they’ve been dealt.

As far as this game goes, as long as the Chelsea players don’t let the off-pitch dramas affect them, Carlo Ancelotti & Chelsea should notch up their fifth Premiership victory in succession, following victories over Hull, Sunderland, Fulham and Burnley. They’ve made the best possible start and have made the most of some very easy fixtures in truth. However, Chelsea have done what all great teams do, and that’s beat whatever is put in front of you.

Chelsea have no major injury concerns as of yet but many players will face some late fitness tests after returning from abroad after internationals. John Terry, Frank Lampard & Ashley Cole should all be fit to start though after enjoying a successful week in the England fold, beating the Croatian’s and, in the process, securing their place in the World Cup.

Head-to-Head:

Stoke W: 0 Chelsea W: 2 Draws: 0

The pair met for the very first time last season, of which, Chelsea won both encounters. The Londoners beat Stoke 2-0 at The Brittania, but Stoke did cause Chelsea all sorts of problems when they clashed at Stamford Bridge, unfortunately, going down 2-1 with a late Lampard goal. This will be just their third meeting and just their second at The Brittania, the home of Stoke City.

Match Verdict: Chelsea to WIN – 4/9 SkyBet

Stoke should be more than accomplished to handle themselves in their second season, however, they’ve found scoring a major problem, finding the opposing net just three times this season, failing to score more than once in any of their opening four fixtures. They were held comfortably at Anfield against Liverpool and although this will be on Stoke turf, Chelsea should do exactly the same. A comfortable Chelsea victory is the call here as the league leaders aim to keep up their fine start to the season.

Match Odds:

Stoke City – 8/1 Bet365

Chelsea – 4/9 SkyBet

Draw – 7/2 Bet365

SoccerBetting Tip: Chelsea to WIN to NIL – 5/4 SkyBet