Saturday’s late kick-off pits together Stoke City and Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium. Mark Hughes’ men have triumphed in one of their five home clashes this term but will be encouraged by the fact that the Blues have claimed three points just once on their travels.
The Potters’ most glaring deficiency this season has been their poor finishing: despite ranking joint-fifth for big chances (15), no side has tallied fewer goals (nine) than the Staffordshire outfit. Over the last four Gameweeks, Stoke amassed the second fewest shots on target (10), giving rise to the worst goal output (two). On the flip side, Mark Hughes’ men notched three clean sheets during that period and surrendered the second fewest big chances (three).
In the last four Gameweeks, Chelsea place in the bottom two for attempts (35) and bottom three for shots inside the box (20). Moreover, only Stoke (10) and Aston Villa (eight) managed more shots on target (11), which suggests this match-up could be an attritional affair. The Potters’ attacking troops will be heartened in the knowledge that only four sides shipped more goals (eight) than the Blues since Gameweek 8.
