Stoke v Chelsea preview

11 September 2009 10:51
Stoke striker James Beattie faces a late fitness test before the Potters' clash against Premier League leaders Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium. The 31-year-old has not found the back of the net yet this season, but Stoke fans will be hoping he can shake off a knee injury in time to line up against Carlo Ancelotti's men. Tony Pulis will continue to be without Mali striker Mamady Sidibe, and will assess the fitness of international quartet Thomas Sorensen, Tuncay Sanli, Glenn Whelan and Liam Lawrence before deciding on his starting line-up. Stoke have had an excellent start to the season and currently lie fifth in the Premier League, winning both of their home matches at the Britannia Stadium. New assistant manager Peter Reid will join Tony Pulis in the dugout as they plot to mastermind Chelsea's downfall - although the Blues are in fine form, having earned maximum points from their opening four games. Chelsea news Ancelotti's side are looking to equal the club record of 10 successive league wins, set when Jose Mourinho was manager, but will again be without a number of players. Portuguese midfielder Deco is out after suffering a calf problem during his country's midweek match against Hungary, but Ancelotti is hoping to have him back for the Champions League match against Porto on Tuesday. Joe Cole played 60 minutes for the reserves on Tuesday, while full-back Paulo Ferreira played the full 90, but neither is expected to play a part against Stoke. They will also continue to be without Russian wide-man Yuri Zhirkov and Brazilian centre-back Alex as they try and maintain their perfect start to the campaign. It will be the Stamford Bridge outfit's first match since the news that they will be banned from signing any new players in the next two transfer windows, following the tapping-up of Lens forward Gael Kakuta. But Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard expects the ban to make the team stronger than ever, and they could be fired up for the Stoke clash. He said: "A lot of things have happened to me in my career for Chelsea and England and whenever it's backs against the wall it brings a togetherness and it can be used as a positive. "It's something out of the players' control so all we can do is make it a positive." Possible starting XIs Stoke: Sorensen, Higginbotham, Huth, Shawcross, Wilkinson, Lawrence, Delap, Whelan, Etherington, Tuncay, Beattie. Chelsea Cech, Cole, Bosingwa, Terry, Carvalho, Ballack, Lampard, Mikel, Essien, Anelka, Drogba.

Source: SKY_Sports