Jose Mourinho's out-of-form Chelsea side visit Stoke City in the League Cup on Tuesday, as the Blues aim to bounce back from a defeat at West Ham United in the Premier League.
As for Mark Hughes and his charges, they will be desperate to get back to winning ways after coming up short at home to Watford at the weekend.
Stoke City
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The Potters have seemingly turned their fortunes around after a rather tumultuous start to the new term.
Hughes and his men enjoyed a strong back-end of September and early October, as they were able to put together three wins on the bounce, before being beaten at home by Watford on Saturday.
The Stoke coach would have been hugely impressed given that his side had conceded just one goal as part of their winning run, while also bagging two of those three victories away from home.
Hughes will, however, be aggravated by their home loss to the Hornets in what had looked like a winnable fixture, and he will be eager to hit straight back by taking something away from a visiting Chelsea side.
The Staffordshire-based club have already come through two fixtures in the League Cup, as they were first made to work hard on penalties by Luton Town, before managing to edge past Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWWL
Chelsea
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The Blues come into this game following a disastrous showing at West Ham that saw the club suffer more than just a loss away from home.
Not only were Mourinho's men beaten 2-1 to send them down into 15th place in the Premier League standings, but the contest also saw the Chelsea boss, his coach Silvino Louro and midfielder Nemanja Matic effectively dismissed from the game.
The club had previously shown some signs of life after coming up trumps against Aston Villa earlier in the month, but the defeat at Upton Park saw Mourinho fall to his second loss in his last three league fixtures.
The League Cup might bring some light reprieve for Mourinho and his coaches as they are able to turn away from their Premier League misfortunes for one game, although they know that they will be facing a more in-form Stoke side at the Britannia.
The game could provide a number of fringe players with the chance to stake their claim for a starting place in the league with a strong performance in the Cup. In light of his experienced players' failures, Mourinho will likely be keen to give his younger men the chance should they be able to prove themselves on Tuesday.
One player in particular who will be keen to impress will be Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has a standout chance to take over from Matic following his poor run of form and lacklustre showing at the weekend.
Mourinho's future is more likely to be decided by his contributions in the Premier League and Champions League, and Tuesday's battle should give the coach a bit of breathing space as he looks to recover from another testing weekend.
Recent form (all competitions): DLLWDL
Team News
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Visitors Chelsea are to be without Matic through suspension, potentially giving a chance to Loftus-Cheek in the middle of the park.
Mourinho has also been sweating on the fitness of Loic Remy, Pedro and Branislav Ivanovic, who could all potentially make a push to feature at some point.
As for the hosts, Hughes is still waiting for Ryan Shawcross to make his return from injury, but that is unlikely to come against Chelsea.
Geoff Cameron came off early on against Watford at the weekend, and the club will be holding out to see if he can make it back in time to start.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Butland; Johnson, Cameron, Wollschei, Pieters, Adam, Whelan, Shaqiri, Krkic, Arnautovic, Joselu
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Amelia; Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Loftus-Cheek, Ramires, Willian, Fabregas, Kenedy; Costa
Head To Head
Chelsea come into the fixture with a commanding hold of recent games against Stoke. Over their past six meetings, Chelsea have won five and lost just once. The last time these two sides met was during the Premier League last year, where Chelsea earned a 2-0 victory in Stoke before picking up another 2-1 victory on home soil.
We say: Stoke City 1-2 Chelsea
Stoke can often be a tough place to visit and the Potters, had appeared in good form prior to the defeat by Watford. City will, however, be coming up against a Chelsea side that will be itching to set the record straight following a tough weekend under the microscope. The change in competition could relieve some of the pressure on Mourinho and his players, while a number of changes could possibly bring a renewed energy into the visitors' starting XI.
Christopher Dodd
