Chelsea will face Michael Laudrup’s struggling Swans on Boxing Day after playing out a draw against Arsenal at Emirates. The clean sheet came as a boon for Petr Cech & the Chelsea defense and Jose Mourinho was relatively pleased with Chelsea’s efforts against the London rivals.
The Premier League standings have been at a logjam with just 2 points separating the top 5 clubs. Each & every point is crucial, not just for the title race but also to secure a top 4 position.
Swansea have been far from convincing on road this season, taking just 9 points of 8 matches. Chelsea will look to keep up their home form when the Welsh side comes visiting.
DATE & TIME: December 26, 2013 at 10:00 EST; December 26, 2013 at 15:00 GMT; December 26, 2013 at 16:00 WAT; December 26, 2013 at 17:00 CAT; December 26, 2013 at 18:00 EAT; December 26, 2013 at 20:30 IST.
VENUE: Stamford Bridge, London, United Kingdom.
TV/STREAMING NEWS: The match will be telecast live on Fox Sports 3 on Australia, Supersport 5/HD5 Africa in African sub-continent, Sportsnet TSN2 in Canada, Star Sports 4 in India, Fox Sports Plus HD Italia in Italy, Fox Sports Plus HD in Malaysia, Fox Sports 2 in Netherlands, C+ Liga de Campeones, Canal+ Futbol HD & Gol Stadium in Spain, Al Jazeera Sport +2 in UAE, BBC One in United Kingdom and NBC Sports Network in USA.
The match is available online on Aljazeerasport.tv in Middle East, Fox Soccer Go in Netherlands and NBC Sports Live Extra in USA.
Chelsea TV will have live audio of the game.
You can also catch the game on TalkSport Radio if you’re in Canada or US.
CHELSEA FC SQUAD NEWS: Chelsea have a clean bill of health except for Marco van Ginkel who is not expected to return sometime soon and Ryan Bertrand who is yet to recover from his injury.
Predicted Starting XI: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Essien, Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Eto’o.
SWANSEA CITY AFC SQUAD NEWS: Swans will miss Gary Monk, Michel Vorm, Michu, Nathan Dyer and Álvaro through injury. Michu is expected to undergo ankle surgery and hence a lengthy lay-off. Angel Rangel will be back from suspension though.
Predicted Starting XI: Tremmel, Rangel, Chicho, Williams, Davies, Canas, Guzmán, Hernández, Shelvey, Routledge, Bony.
REFEREE: Michael Jones.
FORM INDEX: Chelsea – WWWLWD; Swansea – WLWDDL.
FUN TRIVIA:
- Chelsea are undefeated in last 17 home matches in Premier League.
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 4 league meetings with Swansea.
- Swansea have won only 2 of their last 13 meetings with Chelsea in all competitions.
- Chelsea have scored at least 2 goals in their last 13 home matches in the Premier League.
Chelsea must get a result at home against Swansea in order to keep up at the top of the table and consolidate their position before facing the current leaders Liverpool on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
