Two clubs in opposite halves of the Premier League table will do battle today in a league match between Stoke City and Chelsea. The first-division clash scheduled for 3 p.m. ET will be held at Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on NBC Sports.
What They're Saying
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes (via Yahoo Sport): "I think more and more these days there is more skill in it [diving], with players prepared to go down to gain an advantage even when there has been absolutely no contact whatsoever. That is incorrect, and should not happen. There is a grey area in terms of players having contact and players just going down without any, so that is what needs stamping out."
Chelsea manager Eden Hazard (via the Guardian): "I think he [Eden Hazard] can become one of this club's all-time greats. I think so, but he needs to win titles because titles make players historic. I don't know players who are considered legends in clubs without winning titles. He has to do that. But the potential, everybody knows."
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Hazard has nine goals across all competitions. Always a threat on the ball, the 23-year-old is averaging 6.1 take-ons and 2.5 key passes.
Stoke City's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Pieters, Wilson, Shawcross, Bardsley; N'Zonzi, Cameron; Diouf, Bojan, Walters; Crouch
Chelsea's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Luis, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic; Fabregas, Matic; Hazard, Oscar, Wilian; Costa
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (statistics and lineups via WhoScored).
Standings
| Rnk | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 13 | 23 | 39 | |||
| 2 | Manchester City | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 14 | 22 | 39 | |||
| 3 | Manchester United | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 12 | 32 | |||
| 4 | West Ham United | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 31 | |||
| 5 | Southampton | 17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 13 | 15 | 29 | |||
| 6 | Arsenal | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 21 | 9 | 27 | |||
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 23 | -1 | 27 | |||
| 8 | Swansea City | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 25 | |||
| 9 | Newcastle United | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 23 | |||
| 10 | Liverpool | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 22 | |||
| 11 | Everton | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 21 | |||
| 12 | Aston Villa | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 21 | -10 | 20 | |||
| 13 | Stoke City | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 19 | |||
| 14 | Sunderland | 17 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 19 | |||
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 17 | |||
| 16 | Queens Park Rangers | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 20 | 32 | -12 | 17 | |||
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 27 | -8 | 15 | |||
| 18 | Burnley | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 26 | -14 | 15 | |||
| 19 | Hull City | 17 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 13 | |||
| 20 | Leicester City | 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 10 |
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