Chelsea desperate for win at Stoke City after Champions League success

After a much needed Champions League victory on Wednesday, Chelsea will face Stoke City in this weekend’s Premier League clash at Britannia Stadium without suspended manager Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese is unable to attend due to a one-match ban from The Football Association after admitting misconduct behaviour during recent defeat at Westham.

Mourinho, who’s job as Chelsea boss is in jeopardy after making the worst start to a Premier League season by losing six of eleven matches, will need to make a clear statement at Stoke, a team they have defeated in their previous four league encounters.

There were real signs of Chelsea showing character throughout the Champions League clash, despite rumours of dressing room revolts against Portuguese manager, who’s job came back to life, thanks to an astonishing late winner by Willian that gave the Blues a 2-1 win against Dynamo Kiev.

The Blues stood combatively and resilient after a Dragovic equaliser, to then watch how Willian scored a free kick wonder in the 83rd minute, placing them second in Champions League Group G, three points behind leaders Porto with two matches to go.

Although, much like the 3-1 Liverpool loss, Chelsea defence stood frail under pressure, demonstrating the lack of self-confidence in the players, while goalkeeper Begovic made a mess for Kiev’s goal as he still does not seem to fill rightfully in for injured Thibaut Courtois.

The defending champions, who have allowed 22 goals while scoring 16 in the league, will look to claim vengeance against Stoke City.

In their most recent matchup, Stoke eliminated Chelsea from the Capitol One Cup through a gruelling penalty shootout, aggravating Mourinho’s tough start to the season, deepening the worries on Chelsea fans and its beliefs on the Portuguese ability to take the team to a winning stride.

The Blues are desperate for victories as they stand 15th in the league winning only three of their first eleven matches this season. However, one of them came by defeating Stoke 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

14th place Stoke City drew 0-0 against Newcastle thanks to the efforts of player of the match, goalkeeper Jack Butland, who made a superb display stopping six of the Magpies attempts on goal.

Kick-off: 17:30 Brittania Stadium (London Time)