Stoke City winger Marko Arnautović (R) competes for the ball against Newcastle United's Daryl Janmaat. (Photo : Getty Images)
After its recent three-game winning run, Stoke City (3-4-4, 13 points) is again struggling with a loss and a draw to two lowly teams. The Potters now meet defending champions Chelsea (3-6-2, 11 points), who is in even more conundrum, at the Britannia Stadium this Saturday as the 2015-2016 Premier League season moves forward.
Stoke, who had not been matched with powerhouse teams for several weeks now, won three straight against Bournemouth, Aston Villa, and Swansea City, but then succumbed to Watford and drew with Newcastle United afterward.
Their last game against Newcastle, one of the bottom three teams, ended up in a goalless draw at the St. James' Park on October 31st as Mark Hughes squad can't seem to find the offensive rhythm in the match.
Fortunately for the Potters, goalkeeper Jack Butland had a superb performance to salvage the one point in the overall standings for Stoke, as per The Guardian.
Chelsea, on the other hand, experienced a 1-3 beating in the hands of Liverpool to give the Reds' new manager Jürgen Klopp his first Premier League win for the Anfield residents, via BBC Sport.
The Blues' struggles in the current season have not finished and it looks like they will not be able to recover in time to successfully defend their crown.
It was Chelsea's second straight loss and third in its last four outings to drop at the no. 15 spot in the league table, 14 points behind league leaders Manchester City and Arsenal.
Hughes and the Potters look to bounce back from their previous two winless tries with a huge win versus Jose Mourinho and the Blues this weekend.
The prediction is a 2-1 victory for Stoke City over Chelsea.
Stoke City starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Butland; Pieters, Wollscheid, Johnson, Shawcross; Shaqiri, Adam; Arnautovic, Bojan, Whelan; Walters
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Begovic; Zouma, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Oscar; Obi Mikel, Hazard, Willian; Costa
