First-half latest: Chelsea 0 Stoke 0 – Blues struggling so far

Chelsea have struggled to create chances in a cagey opening 25 minutes at Stamford Bridge.

Stoke started brightly with Xherdan Shaqiri prominent, but the first chance fell to Chelsea’s Bertrand Traore,

Traore, playing up front because of a tendon injury to Diego Costa, miscued completely from Cesar Azpilicueta’s first-time cross after a glorious long pass by Branislav Ivanovic.

Eden Hazard – on his 200th Chelsea appearance for Chelsea – was at the heart of the home side’s best moments but was unable to find a final pass on several occasions.

Oscar also sent in a testing low cross after a neat turn, while at the other end Thibaut Courtois made a decent save from Ibrahim Afellay’s long-range strike and Mame Diouf shot over when he should have scored.

Blues boss Guus Hiddink left Cesc Fabregas on the bench, but there were recalls for John Mikel Obi, Willian and Baba Rahman.

The Blues and the Potters are both chasing a fourth consecutive Premier League victory. A Chelsea win would take them above Stoke in the table and could see them which could take them up to seventh place in the table.