Stoke manager Tony Pulis will monitor the fitness of John Carew ahead of the match. The Norwegian striker has been suffering from a back complaint, causing him to miss the last two matches. Goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen is also suffering from a similar injury after breaking down in the warm-up ahead of Denmark's friendly against Slovakia this week. Carlo Ancelotti will check on the fitness of Salomon Kalou before choosing his forward line. Kalou, who played 90 minutes for Ivory Coast on Sunday, has a slight knock but the Blues' other stars all returned unscathed from the international break. That included Yossi Benayoun (Achilles), who played the final 19 minutes of Israel's game with Georgia but will not be risked, while Alex (knee) will also continue to build up his fitness. Stoke (from): Begovic, Sorensen, Huth, Wilson, Delap, Faye, Etherington, Whitehead, Jones, Collins, Fuller, Carew, Pugh, Whelan, Pennant, Wilkinson, Walters, Shawcross, Higginbotham, Diao, Shotton. Chelsea (from): Cech, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Terry, Luiz, Ivanovic, Zhirkov, Cole, Mikel, Essien, Lampard, Ramires, McEachran, Kalou, Malouda, Anelka, Torres, Drogba, Turnbull.
