Stoke City vs Chelsea preview: Jose Mourinho will hope to relieve pressure with Capital One Cup win

A look ahead to the Capital One Cup fixture at the Britannia Stadium

It’s a big game for…

Ruben Loftus-Cheek: The 19-year-old midfielder had been hoping to capitalise on Nemanja Matic’s poor form with an extended run in the Chelsea team, but the youngster was hauled off after just 45 minutes against Aston Villa and has not played since. Loftus-Cheek needs to put in an impressive performance if he is to convince Jose Mourinho to trust his youth players.

Best stat…

7

The number of matches Chelsea have lost this season in 15 games (47%). Chelsea only lost four of 54 matches in the 2014/15 campaign.

Remember when…

A superb 90th minute winner from Oussama Assaidi handed Stoke City a 3-2 victory over Chelsea at The Britannia in December 2013. Having twice come back from behind, Mark Hughes’s side scored from all three of their shots on target to seal their first victory over the Blues in 13 attempts.

Player to watch…

Bojan Krkic: The Spanish playmaker has settled back into his rhythm at the Britannia after a six month injury lay-off, having earned his side the decisive penalty against Swansea ten days ago. Bojan could flourish in the gap between defence and midfield that Chelsea have struggled to close off this season.

Past three-meetings…

Chelsea 2 (Hazard, Remy), Stoke City 1 (Adam)
Premier League, April 2015

Stoke City 0, Chelsea 2 (Terry, Fabregas)
Premier League, December 2014

Chelsea 3 (Salah, Lampard, Willian), Stoke City 0
Premier League, April 2014

Form guide…

Stoke City: DWWWWL

Chelsea: DLLWDL

Vital information…

Kick-off time: Tuesday 27 October, 7.45pm

TV: highlights on Channel 5, 11pm, 28 October