Stoke City vs. Chelsea preview, English Premier League
English Premier League runners up Chelsea begin the new Premier League season with a trip to Stoke City. The Blues will try to secure a win on their trip to Britannia under new manager Andre Villas-Boas, who replaced sacked Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti.
The hosts will also be looking for a winning start, after finishing at 13th on the Premier League table last season.
While Chelsea are targeting to overthrow the reigning champions Manchester United and claim the English Premier League crown, Stoke City are aiming for a finish in the top half of the table. The Blues have the added burden of the UEFA Champions League to
focus on and Stoke find themselves in the second tier European competition, the Europa League.
Last season saw http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jonathan-c18993 Walters scored to level the score after
Didier Drogba’s goal, and gave his side a draw against the Premier League giants.
They meet once again in the new Premier League season, with both sides determined to start the new campaign on a winning note. A failure to do so will not only mean the loss of important points early on in the season, but more importantly the loss of the
morale of the players. The first game has the possibility of setting the tone for the rest of the season, which is why this game is vital.
Team news
Stoke City
Matthew Upson is a doubt for the Chelsea clash, with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jonathan-Woodgate-c19069
will most likely make a start in defence today, who was signed from Tottenham Hotspur.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Matthew-Etherington-c24822 on the other hand have hamstring and rib injuries, respectively, but could start against the Blues depending
on a late fitness test. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dean-Whitehead-c10729, the 29-year-old central defender was confident about his side’s chances against Chelsea.
Whitehead said while speaking to reporters:
“Over the past few years we have progressed remarkably and we now believe that we can beat any team here on our own turf, even the bigger clubs. We want to show people that by getting off to a winning start on Sunday.”
Chelsea
Former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 during mid-week, but the 27-year-old forward has been declared fit for the opening fixture. However, it is highly unlikely Villas-Boas will start with
the Spaniard. The Portuguese manager is expected to choose Didier Drogba and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicolas-Anelka-c27786 in attack.
Frank Lampard returns after a throat infection ruled him out for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Essien-c25294, the 28-year-old Ghanaian, remains an absentee, having picked up a long-term injury during pre-season. Steve Holland,
the first team coach, revealed the Blues were excited about the opening game of the Premier League.
Holland said:
We're all excited about getting up and running. It’s always great to get that first game done, you can train and train but in the end it's about games.
When you've had six or seven pre-season games, they're competitive but not the real thing and we're all ready now for the real thing and Sunday will present a big task.”
Possible line-ups
Stoke City
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kenwyne-Jones-c20659.
Chelsea
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Didier-Drogba-c11044
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