When Chelsea walk onto the pitch at the Britannia Stadium Saturday, two things will be on the back of the players' as well as the manager Rafa Benitez's mind - their last Premier League game when they lost 1-0 to Queens Park Rangers and their previous match when they were humbled by Swansea 2-0 in the Capital One Cup semi-finals.
Benitez was basically fighting a losing battle even before he agreed to take on the job at Stamford Bridge. Majority of the fans have been against the Spaniard from day one, with the crescendo of boos increasing considerably with every significant defeat.
To make matters worse, Fernando Torres was roundly jeered by the Chelsea faithful, in the Swansea game, for the first time since making his move from Liverpool, after another abject performance - ironically it was also his 100th Blues appearance.
Benitez could not have asked for a tougher away assignment -- outside of a match against the top clubs -- than a trip to Stoke.
Tony Pulis' men have one of the stingiest defences in the league - they are only second to Chelsea, having conceded just 20 goals all season, to the Blues' 19. Chelsea are currently fourth in the table on 38 points from 20 matches, one behind third-placed Tottenham, with a game in hand.
The defeat to Swansea was the product of two Bransilav Ivanovic errors, but it also showed Chelsea's frailty under pressure. Stoke, who are tenth on 29 points, will be one of those teams that will sit back and invite the opposition to attack, while relying on the counter as well as set-pieces to break open the rival team's defense.
It is a plan that has worked quite well for Pulis' men over the past few years, and Benitez no doubt will be aware of what to expect. The Potters have no new injury worries and the manger is expected to recall the likes of Kenwyne Jones, Asmir Begovic and Glenn Whelan after resting them for last week's FA Cup match against Crystal Palace.
Frank Lampard, after being left on the bench for the Swansea game, should feature from the start, with the Spanish manager receiving much abuse for only bringing on their favorite player in the final 20 minutes of the League Cup game.
Demba Ba or Fernando Torres will be the other major issue that Benitez will have to sort out. The Spaniard was brought in by Roman Abramovich to improve the form of Torres, and while the former Liverpool striker has shown his old prowess in patches, the last few games have seen the 28-year-old go back to what has been the norm ever since making his move to Chelsea.
The Senegalese international scored two goals on his debut in the 5-1 FA Cup win over Southampton, and was denied a goal against Swansea after being called for offside. The former Newcastle man has looked way more potent than Torres in a little over one appearance already, and logic would say Ba will start the game against Stoke.
Benitez received a fillip with John Terry making his comeback from injury by turning out for the under-21 side on Thursday. While the Chelsea skipper is not expected to be involved for the Stoke game, although he will be on the bench, his return will no doubt come as a major relief to the interim manager. Petr Cech, though, remains a doubt, while Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel are away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Expected lineups: Stoke: Begovic; Cameron, Shawcross, Huth, Wilkinson; Walters, N'Zonzi, Whelan, Adam, Jerome; Jones.
Chelsea: Turnbull; Azpilizueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Cole; Luiz, Lampard; Oscar, Mata, Hazard; Ba.
Prediction: 1-0 to Chelsea
