Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of Chelsea v Stoke at Stamford Bridge. We'll have build-up and team news over the next hour, followed by full text commentary.

Oscar curls a cross into the box, but it's comfortably cut out and Butland gathers the loose ball.

The perception that Chelsea may have half an eye on the midweek Champions League tie hasn't been changed by their lacklustre start to this game.

This pretty much sums it up. Thanks @stokecity.

A long Shaqiri pass towards Arnautovic threatens to pick out his run, but Courtois is alive to the danger and beats the onrushing Austrain to the ball.

Stoke have been the better of the two teams so far, but the tempo of the game is slow and the atmosphere at the Bridge is pretty flat.

Imbula glides forward and pulls the Chelsea midfield towards him, creating space for Shaqiri on the wing. His pass towards the diminutive wide man is intercepted by Afellay before being fed on and Shaqiri is caught offside as a result.

It'll be interesting to see Bertrand Traore up top for Chelsea today. The youngster is very highly rated and it's about time a promising youngster came through at the Bridge.

Again the Potters are let down by the final pass, with Afellay's dinked through-ball drifting through to Chelsea's Belgian number one.

Stoke have started the game brightly, but a Shaqiri cross floats harmlessly into the arms of Courtois.

Chelsea get the game underway, kitted out in their all-blue. Stoke are in their change black strip with green trim.

What a guy. Captain, leader, legend... or something like that.

So there's no Diego Costa for Chelsea, with Cesc Fabregas left on the bench. Hiddink says that's down to fitness problems, so obviously the fact that PSG are coming up in the week has nothing to do with it...

Here's a reminder of today's teams:

Chelsea: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic (c), Baba; Mikel, Matic; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Traore. Subs: Begovic, Miazga, Clarke-Salter, Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas, Pato, Remy.

Stoke: Butland; Pieters, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Cameron; Whelan, Wanga; Shaqiri, Afellat, Arnautovic; Diouf. Subs: Haugaard, Ireland, Joselu, Walters, Teixeira, Crouch, Bojan.

And here is the man himself... in a sauna by the looks of it.

Imbula has been excellent for the Potters since his big-money move, offering composure on the ball in central midfield and a counter-attacking threat with his gliding runs forward on the break. You can see why he’s so highly rated, but today is a big test for him.

Stoke City are a bit of an enigma. Capable of brilliant one-off performances, the Potters have struggled for consistency at times this season. They are in the middle of a winning streak though and it will be fascinating to see how January signing Imbula fares against a combative Chelsea midfield.

Still unbeaten under Guus Hiddink, facing Chelsea is no longer a chance to pick up three easy points. The Blues are looking more like their old selves, with even Eden Hazard putting in a shift.

Whisper it quietly, but Chelsea are on the march. Going into today's game the Blues are just eight points outside the top for and in the sort of form that you'd expect of defending champions.