Broadcast info
Who's playing: League leaders Chelsea will hope to head into 2017 with an even wider lead over the chasing pack as they take on Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
What time: Saturday, December 31st at 07:00 PST/10:00 EST/15:00 GMT/16:00 CET
What stadium: This game will be played at the Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's famous home ground can seat up to 41,631 fans.
Which channel:
- In the USA: NBC Sports Live, Premier League Extra Time
- In the UK: BBC Radio 5 Live
- In Canada: Sportsnet World, Sportsnet World Now
*View up-to-date broadcast listings
Match stats & facts
- Chelsea failed to win their last two meetings with Stoke City last season (1D, 1L)
- However, the Potters have failed to win their last 11 trips to Stamford Bridge
- The last time Stoke City won at Chelsea's home ground was in April 1974, when they won 1-0
- Chelsea have won their past 12 Premier League games
- Only Arsenal has done better (14 consecutive between Feb and August 2002)
- Mark Hughes has never won at Stamford Bridge as a Premier League manager (two draws, eight losses)
Will Chelsea wrap up 2016 with another win?
Chelsea
12. That's the number of wins Chelsea have won on the trot. That also just so happens to be a new club record for the Blues. The last time Antonio Conte's men lost a game was way back in September, when they were thrashed 3-0 by Arsenal. Although they lost to West Ham in the EFL Cup shortly thereafter, Chelsea have been perfect ever since. Given that they are not featuring in European competition, the London powerhouse are a definite favorite to re-claim their spot as England's no. 1 side at the end of this season.
Conte has a proven track record of turning fallen giants around, having done so with Juventus a few seasons back. So far, he's done well in his debut season in London, but the 2016/2017 Premier League season is far from over just yet. However, with a six point lead over the chasing pack, the Blues will head into 2017 as league leaders, albeit with Liverpool and Manchester City facing off, they will want to take advantage and extend this gap as much as possible against a Stoke City devoid of confidence. Only Pedro will be suspended for this game, whilst both Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante return, giving the Italian tactician pretty much a full strength line-up available for selection.
Stoke City
As for Stoke City, they come into this game having won just one out of their last five games. The Potters suffered a disappointing and demoralizing 4-1 loss to Liverpool in their most recent fixture. That result would have hurt even more especially considering that they did manage to take an early lead at Anfield, but Mark Hughes's side won't have much time to sit and mope about the bad result.
Stoke currently sit in 13th spot, so really aren't exactly in danger of relegation per se, as there are seven points between them and Sunderland. However, a few more bad results and the Potters could find themselves a lot more closer to that dreaded drop zone than they would like. Unfortunately for them, they have a bad track record against Chelsea at this ground and more important, the Blues are simply unstoppable at this point in time. Injuries and suspensions have not been kind to the visitors, either, and for all intents and purposes, they really could be in for a long afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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