Defending Premier League champions Chelsea are up into the top half of the table for the first time in over six months and next host another in-form side, Stoke City, on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams enter the match on three-game winning streaks and are separated by only three points in the table.

Chelsea

The Blues are on their best run in the league in almost a year and Guus Hiddink really seems to have turned things around at Stamford Bridge.

The Dutchman is unbeaten in his 11 Premier League games as Chelsea manager in this spell and should he avoid defeat tomorrow he will set a new record - no manager has gone 12 unbeaten at the start of a single spell at a Premier League club.

Their strong recent run means that they are up to 10th and now just eight points behind the top four, although a Champions League finish still seems farfetched with just 10 games of the season remaining.

The Blues' last two wins were both 2-1 away from home, with Saturday's come-from-behind triumph at Southampton followed by victory at Carrow Road against Norwich City, a game in which Kenedy scored the fastest goal of the season after just 39 seconds.

At home, Chelsea are six games unbeaten in the Premier League but have drawn four of those and kept no clean sheets in the last seven on home soil, which is a worry with Paris Saint-Germain the next visitors to West London on Wednesday night for the second leg of the duo's last-16 Champions League tie.

PSG lead the tie 2-1 after the first leg and Chelsea will have to shore up the backline if they are to go through against the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani.

Speaking of dangerous frontmen, back-in-form Diego Costa has scored or assisted 12 goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances (eight goals, four assists).

Recent Premier League form: WDDWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWLWWW

Stoke

Like Chelsea, Stoke have won three in a row, but their resurgence has come after three straight defeats, with the Potters up to seventh and only five behind the top four.

Victory at Stamford Bridge tomorrow - where they have an awful record - would give Stoke four successive league wins for the first time since 2011, equalling their longest winning run in the Premier League.

Stoke's last three wins have all been against sides in the bottom six, with 19th-placed Newcastle United the latest to fall at their hands in midweek as Xherdan Shaqiri's thunderbolt on a blustery night at the Britannia settled matters.

It could have been more than one, but in the end it was almost two points dropped as Jack Butland produced an acrobatic late save to deny the Magpies an equaliser, with Newcastle boss Steve McClaren bemoaning the fact that his side had to face Butland, who also starred in the reverse at St James' Park.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes played three seasons for Chelsea, scoring 25 goals in 95 Premier League appearances, but he has not enjoyed managing away at his former team or some of the other more prestigious stadiums in the country.

The Welshman has lost 30 and won none of his last 34 Premier League matches as a coach at Anfield, Emirates/Highbury, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge combined.

In the capital, the Potters have won just one of their last 14 Premier League away trips to London (W1 D5 L8).

Recent Premier League form: LLLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LLLWWW

Team News

Chelsea will monitor the fitness of Brazilian Kenedy, who was forced off against Norwich in midweek with a minor groin injury after his early goal. If the Brazilian youngster does not recover in time then Baba Rahman is likely to come in at left-back.

The Blues will also assess John Terry and Pedro, who are nursing hamstring problems, while Eden Hazard is struggling with a knock. Other changes could be made by Hiddink with the crucial Champions League tie at home to PSG on the horizon.

Stoke boss Hughes has said that his side are stretched defensively and may have to start some players who are not 100% fit having lost Phil Bardsley to injury in midweek.

Geoff Cameron will be assessed, but Ryan Shawcross, Marc Wilson and Glen Johnson are definitely out. Up front, Bojan Krkic has not started since February 2 and could again be kept out of the team by Jonathan Walters.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Kenedy; Mikel, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Oscar; Costa

Stoke possible starting lineup:
Butland; Cameron, Muniesa, Wollscheid, Pieters; Whelan, Imbula, Shaqiri, Afellay, Arnautovic; Walters

Head To Head

Chelsea have won all seven Premier League matches against Stoke at Stamford Bridge, with the Potters scoring just two goals in that run.

In fact, Stoke have not won a league match at Stamford Bridge since a 1-0 victory in April 1974.

The reverse fixture earlier this season at the Britannia was a Potters win, though, as Marko Arnautovic's acrobatic effort proved decisive. Stoke also beat Chelsea on penalties at home in the League Cup in October.

The Dugout Podcast

Hit play below to listen to Sports Mole's new podcast 'The Dugout' for our take on the week's biggest football talking points:

[On this PAGE an item was removed from that AMP version click for the full mobile version.]

We say: Chelsea 1-1 Stoke

Chelsea might just have one eye on PSG's upcoming visit, so Stoke will feel that they have a chance and might end their horrible record in the Premier League era at Stamford Bridge.