Dec 31, 2016 at 3pm UK at ​Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 41,601
Chelsea
4-2
StokeStoke City
Cahill (34'), Willian (57', 65'), Costa (85')
Moses (24'), Fabregas (59'), Alonso (70')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Martins Indi (46'), Crouch (64')
Biram Diouf (70'), Adam (86')

Team News: Diego Costa, N'Golo Kante back for Chelsea

Diego Costa of Chelsea in action during his side's Premier League clash with Southampton at St Mary's on October 30, 2016
© SilverHub
Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante return to the fold as Chelsea welcome Stoke City.

Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante have returned to the fold as league leaders Chelsea welcome Stoke City to Stamford Bridge this afternoon.

The attacking pair return from one-game suspensions as Antonio Conte's men look to make it a staggering 13 league wins on the bounce.

Costa displaces the suspended Pedro on the front line alongside Eden Hazard and Willian, while Kante comes in for Nemanja Matic in a four-man midfield.

Conte sticks with the back three that kept a clean sheet in the routine 3-0 victory over Bournemouth on Boxing Day, with Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill on patrol in front of Thibaut Courtois between the sticks.

For Mark Hughes's visitors, there are three changes from the side that suffered a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool last time out.

A switch to a 3-4-2-1 sees Peter Crouch operate as a lone striker up front, with support from Joe Allen and the returning Xherdan Shaqiri, while Jonathan Walters misses out on the trip to London.

Ibrahim Affelay makes his first start since April and Charlie Adam earns a recall as Glenn Whelan and Giannelli Imbula drop to the bench.

Phil Bardsley had been expected to return after recovering from a knee injury but misses out on the matchday squad, while Marko Arnautovic is suspended for the encounter.

Chelsea: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Diego Costa, Hazard
Subs: Begovic, Zouma, Ivanovic, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Matic, Batshuayi

Stoke City: Grant; Johnson, Shawcross, Martins Indi; Diouf, Affelay, Adam, Pieters; Allen, Shaqiri; Crouch
Subs: Given, Bardsley, Sobhi, Imbula, Whelan, Bojan, Bony

Keep up with all of the action from Stamford Bridge this afternoon with Sports Mole's live text commentary here.

Eden Hazard in action for Chelsea on December 3, 2016
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Chelsea20161342152749
2Liverpool20135248232544
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs20126239142542
4Manchester CityMan City20133441221942
5Arsenal20125344222241
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd20116331191239
7Everton208662823530
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom208572824429
9Bournemouth207492934-525
10Southampton206681925-624
11Stoke CityStoke206682432-824
12Burnley2072112231-923
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham2064102335-1222
14Watford2064102336-1322
15Leicester CityLeicester205692431-721
16Middlesbrough204791722-519
17Crystal Palace2044123037-716
18Sunderland2043131937-1815
19Swansea CitySwansea2043132345-2215
20Hull City2034131744-2713