FA Cup: Chelsea vs Stoke City Match Preview, Sunday 26th January 2014

 
Chelsea vs Stoke City Match FA Cup Preview 26/01/2014

Match info:

Kick off: January 26, 2014 3:30 p.m. GMT

VENUE: Stamford Bridge — London

Referee:‬ Chris Foy‎

TV/: The match will be telecast live on ESPN Australia in Australia, Sportsnet World in Canada, Supersport 3 Africa in African continent, Star Sports 4/HD 2 in India, beIN Sports Arabia in UAE, ITV 1/HD in UK, Fox Sports 2 in USA.

Follow coverage of the FA Cup as Chelsea host Stoke at Stamford Bridge to conclude the weekend's fourth round action.

The Blues are favourites to triumph in the round's only all-Premier League clash as Jose Mourinho's team aim to protect their unbeaten domestic home record this term.

Mark Hughes will have eyes on recording a second victory over the Premier League title chasers though, having defeated Mourinho's outfit 3-2 at the Britannia Stadium last month.


CHELSEA Team NEWS:

Chelsea will also be without striker Fernando Torres after he suffered a knee injury in the victory over United last weekend, meaning Demba Ba is in line to start.

Frank Lampard could also return to the starting line-up after being named among the substitutes for the United game following an injury lay-off, but Marco van Ginkel [knee] remains a long-term absentee.

Chelsea have been in fine form in recent weeks, winning their last six games in all competitions and conceding only two goals in the process.


Stoke City Team News:

Stoke City have been suffering without their number one keeper Asmir Begovic but he could play on Sunday after recovering from a broken finger. Mark Hughes could be set to start striker Kenwyne Jones after being dropped against Crystal Palace after he refused to play in the loss to Liverpool the week before. We could see Manchester City loan player John Guidetti feature after his debut went okay against Crystal Palace.

Chelsea v Stoke in the FA Cup:

5th round, 17 February 1934, Victoria Ground
Stoke....…...…………….3 Chelsea……….…………..1
Matthews 2                        Oakton (pen)
Johnson
                     Att: 42,219


5th round, 12 February 1969, Stamford Bridge
Chelsea……….….……….3 Stoke……………………...2
Birchenall 17                        Burrows 53
Osgood 32, 68                     Dobing 71
                     Att: 39,191


5th round, 16 February 2003, Britannia Stadium
Stoke....…...…………….0 Chelsea……….…………..2
                                          Hasselbaink 52
                                          Gronkjaer 76

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Chelsea vs Manchester United: English Premier League Preview 19.01.2014

Match Chelsea vs Manchester United: English Premier League Preview

Match Info :
Date: January 19, 2014 4:00 PM GMT
Venue: Stamford Bridge — London
Referee:‬ P. Dowd‎
Barclays Premier League

TV: beIN SPORTS HD 1, NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports Live Extra (US); Sky Sports 1/HD, Sky Go, Sky Sports 3D, Sky Sports 1 Ireland, MUTV Online, NOW TV (UK)

Chelsea vs Manchester United

Chelsea plays its first home game of 2014 when it hosts Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in what looks to be the game of the week in the English Premier League.

Manchester United’s visit to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea rekindles memories of numerous feisty contests over the years when both teams were fighting for the title. United seemingly appear out of the title race this season after falling 11 points behind Arsenal, but this fixture has lost none of its excitement.

Only five men - Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, David Moyes, Rafael Benitez and Gerard Houllier - have previously overseen 100 wins with a single Premier League team

A win for Chelsea will represent Mourinho’s 100th in the Premier League. Despite United’s recent form, three points from this encounter is easier said than done. United have been poor at home, but their away form has been decent with just one defeat in the last five.


Head-to-head:

Manchester United have won more games than Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with 30 wins to Chelsea's 22.
The last fixture at Stamford Bridge saw United win 3-2 against Chelsea's nine men in October 2012.
Jose Mourinho has never lost a home game against Manchester United in two spells as Chelsea manager.
There have been four red cards in as many seasons in fixtures between the two clubs.


Team News:

Fellow midfielder Frank Lampard could return from a calf problem for Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester United.

Right-back Branislav Ivanovic only returned to training on Friday following a knee problem and is unlikely to figure.

New signing Nemanja Matic has been added to the squad but boss Jose Mourinho has said he will not start.

Meanwhile, United strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie will again be missing.

Rooney has at least started running again, whilst Van Persie should return to training on Monday after nearly six weeks on the sidelines.

United are looking for their sixth win out of seven in the Premier League but Moyes has never won a head-to-head meeting with Jose Mourinho.


Probable lineups:

Chelsea: Cech; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Terry, Cole ; Matic, Ramires ; Willian, Oscar, Hazard ; Torres

Manchester United: De Gea; Smalling, Vidic, Evans, Evra; Cleverley, Carrick; Valencia, Welbeck, Januzaj, Hernandez

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