Premier League preview: Chelsea v Stoke
Manchester United may be hot on their heels, but this season’s title race essentially boils down to one question: do Chelsea have enough stamina to cling on to their narrow lead?
Just one point separates the two clubs at the top of the table with three matches remaining; but there is a realistic chance than Carlo Ancelotti’s side will arrive into this Sunday’s fixture against Stoke City, trailing the Red Devils by two points.
Such a situation would have been almost inconceivable before the start of last weekend. However, a late Paul Scholes winner in last Saturday’s Manchester derby and a Chelsea capitulation at White Hart Lane now means that the title race is more intense than ever before.
Tony Pulis’ Stoke have a reputation for grinding out results, making the most of the players at their disposal. The Potters have laughed in the face of the so-called second-season syndrome which many thought they’d succumb to this campaign, and remain on course for a top-half finish.
Big, powerful, dogged, tireless; these are the sort of words that have become synonymous with Stoke over the past two seasons. Although they have a reputation for being hard to beat at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke have only lost five matches away from home all season. A record which sees them tied with the likes of United, Tottenham and indeed, Chelsea.
This Sunday’s match at Stamford Bridge pairs up the glamorous v the unfashionable. With a billionaire owner and a multitude of multi-millionaire footballers, Chelsea are light-years ahead of Pulis’ side in terms of earnings and season ambitions. But Stoke have never let this knock their confidence during their spell inside the top-flight. If anything, they’ve relished the underdog tag, and have now cemented a reputation as one of the most stubborn teams to break down in the Premier League.
If Chelsea are to continue their assault on the league title with a win against Stoke, they will have to do so without their talismanic captain, John Terry. A blessing in disguise, perhaps? Ever since the scandal which saw the central defender lose his England captain’s armband, the 29-year-old has been far from his usual sturdy self.
Sent off last week in the 2-1 defeat against Tottenham for two poorly judged challenges, Terry failed to provide a cool head when his team needed it most last week.
Meanwhile, their biggest asset at the opposite end of the pitch, Didier Drogba, is expected to play this weekend. With 32 goals to his name this season, the gulf in class between Chelsea and Stoke is evident. The Potters’ leading goalscorer, Ricardo Fuller, is yet to even break into double figures for this season. Or even the nine-goal barrier for that matter.
For the visitors, Ryan Shawcross is back in the squad for their trip to west-London after two months out with an ankle injury. How important might his return be for not only Stoke, but also the title race?
It’s now 35 years since Stoke last beat Chelsea, and 36 years since the Potters last recorded a win at the Bridge. Only eight league matches between the two sides have elapsed over the course of that time period, though, and the recent timeline is a far more accurate representation of what should be expected this Sunday afternoon.
Last season, Chelsea relied on a late double-salvo from Juliano Belletti and Frank Lampard to salvage all three points against Pulis’ men. Rory Delap had given the visitors the lead on the hour mark, and their resilience almost saw them escape from the capital with the win in the bag. But in the end it wasn’t quite enough.
It was a cruel lesson of the threat Chelsea pose, and of Premier League football in general. Like all true champions, the 2009 FA Cup winners play until the final whistle and never know when they’re beaten.
Stoke had their fingers burnt. It was a surprise, then, that at the start of this season, an almost replica situation occurred. A goal up on the half-hour mark through Abdoulaye Faye gave Stoke a shock 1-0 advantage. But that hard work was undone by a Drogba goal on the stroke of half-time and then a 94th-minute strike from Florent Malouda. More heartbreak for Stoke, who’ll be desperate to inflict revenge in the most emphatic possible fashion this weekend.
Few people are quick to right off the Potters these days and wisely so. Ancelotti, an experienced tactician with a thorough understanding of football at this level, knows that just 270 minutes stand in the way between him and the Premier League title.
Pulis, though, is a fighter, and his spirit transcends to his players on matchday. This fixture may have the appearance of a foregone conclusion to the untrained eye, but Stoke, complete with their favoured underdog tag, will arrive at Stamford Bridge on Sunday keen to re-write the wrongs of the last two matches between the clubs.
Prediction: Chelsea 1 Stoke City 1.
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