Chelsea are in danger of seeing their season derailing by being caught up in too many off-field issues. As much as Roberto Di Matteo would insist the players have not been affected by the Mark Clattenburg row, followed by a Chelsea fan's racial gesture towards Danny Welbeck, in the long run it is bound to take its toll.
For that reason, the Blues will be a little relieved at having an away game far away from London, when they travel to Wales to take on Swansea City. Chelsea still sit at the top of the table, but see their lead cut to a single point, with Manchester United, who beat them last weekend in a controversial 3-2 win, and Manchester City ready to pounce on any mistake.
Di Matteo will be relieved at gaining a measure of revenge with the League Cup win over United, although the physical toll that it might have taken on some of his players cannot be overlooked.
With John Terry about to serve the last game of his four-match suspension, Gary Cahill and David Luiz will again partner in the center of defense having played both the games against United, the latter is a slight doubt. If Luiz is ruled out, Branislav Ivanovic, returning from suspension, will play at center-back with Cesar Azpilicueta filling in at right-back.
Chelsea are looking as good as ever going forward this season - averaging 2.6 goals a game, with 14 different scorers in all competitions. However, with the attacking endeavour their defense has suffered, with the normally steady Blues backline looking a little fragile at the moment.
Swansea, buoyed by an impressive 3-1 win over Liverpool in the Capital One Cup, will look to exploit that weakness, with the Welsh desperate to make amends for the 1-0 loss to City in the Premier League last weekend.
Swansea did not deserve to come away from the Etihad without a single point, and Laudrup will look to drive the importance of carrying on the momentum from the midweek win over Liverpool, rather than dwelling on the loss.
"We played very well," Laudrup said of the game at Anfield. "We created a number of chances and looked really good on the counter attack.
"The result is obviously the most important, but the performance was just as great.
"On Saturday we play the European champions and there will be some tired legs, but I hope we can produce another good performance."
The Danish legend added he expects the game to have a similar make-up to the one against City, knowing the home side will have to capitalize on every opportunity they get, something they failed to do against the English Premier League champions.
"We can compare Saturday's game to the one against Man City," Laudrup said. "We know what to expect from them because they have so much quality, but it is up to us to try and stop them.
"We have to be compact in defence but when we have the ball we need to play like we did on Saturday and Wednesday.
"The big teams have to attack, and that can sometimes mean we have more time to play because there are different approaches to these kinds of games.
"But I'm not concerned about Saturday's game because I know we will play well."
Swansea defender Chico, who scored against Liverpool, is a doubt after limping off in the League Cup game with a dead leg, while Michel Vorm is ruled out due to injury. Angel Rangel returns, after serving out a one-match suspension.
Di Matteo is expected to bring the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Fernando Torres, who served a suspension after his red card against United, back to the starting lineup. However, Frank Lampard is still ruled out through injury.
Ashley Cole, who missed the League Cup game due to a minor knock, is expected to be available.
Expected lineups: Swansea: Tremmel, Davies, Monk, Williams, Rangel, Ki, Britton, De Guzman, Routledge, Hernandez, Michu.
Chelsea: Cech, Cole, Cahill, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Ramires, Hazard, Oscar, Mata, Torres.
Prediction: 1-1
