Chelsea vs Swansea City: Live updates, plus what time does it start, what TV channel is it on and where can I watch it?
The Blues welcome Paul Clement's Swans to Stamford Bridge
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea have the opportunity to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to eleven points with a win at home to Swansea on Saturday.
Antonio Conte's team sit 36 points above Swansea in the table and, on paper, this match appears a guaranteed home win. But since Paul Clement succeeded Bob Bradley as Swansea manager shortly after the new year, his side actually boast a better record than Chelsea, winning four matches and losing only two.
His Swansea team will therefore have very high hopes of springing an upset as Clement prepares to return to Stamford Bridge, a result that could lift them as high as 14th in the table, which would be the highest they have sat in the table since early September.
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Key information…
The Premier League clash between table-toppers Chelsea and relegation-battlers Swansea City kicks off at 3pm on Saturday 25 February.
Due to broadcasting law, the match will not be televised live in the UK. But you can follow the match with our liveblog and then watch the highlights on Match of the Day later on in the evening: they start on BBC One at 10.30pm.
Predicted line-ups…
Chelsea (3-4-3): Thibaut Courtois; Gary Cahill, David Luiz, César Azpilicueta; Marcos Alonso, Nemanja Matic, N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses; Eden Hazard, Pedro, Diego Costa.
Swansea (4-3-3): Lukasz Fabiański; Kyle Naughton, Federico Fernández, Alfie Mawson, Martin Olsson; Leroy Fer, Tom Carroll, Jack Cork; Wayne Routeledge, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Fernando Llorente.
Best stat…
Swansea have taken 12 points from a possible 18 in 2017 so far, winning four of their matches and losing two since Paul Clement succeeded Bob Bradley. (W4 D0 L2). That's one more than Chelsea —.who have won three, drawn two and lost once — have managed.
It’s a big game for…
Alfie Mawson (Swansea City)
Mawson has made a superb start to his Swansea City career. Having moved to the club from Barnsley with just four games worth of experience in the Championship under his belt, Mawson was named Man of the Match on his debut — a 0-0 draw against Watford — and has scored three vital goals for the club in 2017, in wins against Crystal Palace, Southampton and Leicester.
But on Saturday he faces the toughest match of his career to date as he attempts to stop Pedro, Hazard and Costa from scoring at home. “They’re flying in the league and playing really well. They’ve got world-class attacking players but I’m here to test myself," Mawson has said ahead of the game. Tests don't come much harder: Swansea will need Mawson at his best.
Player to watch…
Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Diego Costa just loves playing against Swansea. The Spanish international has scored seven goals in his four Premier League games against Swansea: more than he has against any other side in the competition. He even managed a hat-trick in this exact fixture in September 2014.
Costa has fallen behind Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the Premier League top goalscorer chart but will sense a good opportunity to claw back some ground against Swansea.
Form guide…
Chelsea: WWDWDW
Swansea: LLWWLW
Odds…
Chelsea to win: 3/11
Swansea to win: 19/2
Draw: 49/10
Odds courtesy of 888sport.co
That's all for tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow with live coverage of Tottenham's Premier League encounter with Stoke City at White Hart Lane and then the EFL Cup Final between Manchester United and Southampton at Wembley. Until then, thanks for following the blog today and goodnight.
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