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Chelsea vs Swansea: Prediction, team news, line-ups, start time, live, head to head, odds - Premier League preview

Tom Doyle

Paul Clement returns to Stamford Bridge today as the new Swansea coach hopes to put a dent in Chelsea's Premier League title hopes.

Clement spent two separate spells coaching at Chelsea and helped Carlo Ancelotti to win the title for the west London club, but faces an altogether different task as Swansea boss.

The Swans are locked in a relegation battle following a poor start to the season, but are now four points clear of the drop zone following Clement's fine start to life in south Wales.

Swansea have won four of their last six league games, and a shock 3-2 victory over Liverpool at Anfield will have sent Antonio Conte a warning that Chelsea should not take today's match lightly.

Scroll down for Standard Sport's comprehensive preview....

START TIME

Chelsea host Swansea at Stamford Bridge with kick-off scheduled for 3pm on Saturday, February 25.

LIVE COVERAGE

The match will not be televised live in the UK. Alternatively, you can follow all the build-up and action from 2pm with Standard Sport’s London Football live blog. Enter your email address below to be informed when coverage begins.

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TEAM NEWS

David Luiz and Marcos Alonso could return to Chelsea's starting line-up after the pair were rested for the FA Cup tie at Wolves.

Antonio Conte fielded a strong side for the 2-0 cup win, but John Terry and Cesc Fabregas could find themselves back among the substitutes.

Thibaut Courtois is a slight doubt following a stomach bug, so Asmir Begovic may well continue as goalkeeper if the Belgian No.1 does not recover in time.

Swansea have club captain Leon Britton back from injury for the trip to west London.

The midfielder has been troubled by calf and back problems in recent weeks but is in contention to feature for the first time under head coach Paul Clement against the Blues.

Winger Nathan Dyer (Achilles) is a long-term absentee while Jefferson Montero (hamstring) remains sidelined, as does midfielder Ki Sung-yueng, who has a knee injury.

January signings Luciano Narsingh and Jordan Ayew are pushing to make their first starts, having only featured as substitutes since their respective arrivals from PSV Eindhoven and Aston Villa.

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS

Chelsea starting XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro, Hazard, Costa

Swansea starting XI: Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Maswon, Olsson, Fer, Cork, Carroll, Britton, Llorente, Sigurdsson

HEAD-TO-HEAD

PREDICTION

BETTING ODDS (via 888 Sport)

Chelsea to win: 6/25

Swansea to win: 23/2

Draw: 27/5

Click here to place a bet.
Odds correct as of 10am on February 25.

Premier League table

Pos

Team

P

W

D

L

GD

Pts

1

Chelsea

25

19

3

3

34

60

2

Man City

25

16

4

5

22

52

3

Tottenham

25

14

8

3

28

50

4

Arsenal

25

15

5

5

26

50

5

Liverpool

25

14

7

4

24

49

6

Man United

25

13

9

3

17

48

7

Everton

25

11

8

6

13

41

8

West Brom

25

10

7

8

3

37

9

Stoke

25

8

8

9

-6

32

10

West Ham

25

9

5

11

-9

32

11

Southampton

25

8

6

11

-3

30

12

Burnley

25

9

3

13

-9

30

13

Watford

25

8

6

11

-13

30

14

Bournemouth

25

7

5

13

-14

26

15

Swansea City

25

7

3

15

-23

24

16

Middlesbrough

25

4

10

11

-8

22

17

Leicester

25

5

6

14

-19

21

18

Hull City

25

5

5

15

-27

20

19

Crystal Palace

25

5

4

16

-14

19

20

Sunderland

25

5

4

16

-22

19