Stoke 'may try something different' at Chelsea, says Mark Hughes
Saturday 31 December 2016 11:17, UK
Stoke City boss Mark Hughes says he "may try something different" when he takes his team to face Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Hughes has never won a Premier League game at the home of the Blues in 10 attempts as a manager, losing eight of those contests.
However, with Antonio Conte's side looking to equal Arsenal's Premier League record for the most consecutive wins of 13 when the Potters visit west London, the Welshman knows just what a test awaits him and his players.
Which is why Hughes is prepared to experiment this weekend in the hope of ending both his own poor record at the Bridge, as well as Chelsea's long winning run.
"We have looked at different things," he told Soccer Saturday. "We tried something different at Arsenal and played Marko Arnautovic down the middle and that affected the game and we went in the lead in that game as well.
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"We played two up front against Liverpool and we may well try something different against Chelsea.
You have to have flexibility tactically so that you can respond to things in games when oppositions change their formations
"A lot of times with these games the expectation is that you are not expected to get anything out of them. So maybe that can give you a bit of leeway in terms of looking at different things that you may be able to use further down the line as well against lesser opposition."
Stoke arrive in the capital sitting 13th in the table after Tuesday night's 4-1 loss at second-placed Liverpool, with Hughes targeting yet another top-10 finish come the end of the season.
"We have done really well in recent years and maintained a high level with top-10 finishes in all my time here, but this year I sense it will be a real challenge to do that again," he said. "But that is our intention.
"We never talk about: 'Let's get to 40 points and see where that takes us and then try and get higher when we've got that.' We never talk in those terms because I feel and I have belief in my group that we are better than just thinking of looking to survive, we have gone beyond that as a club."
And with Hughes set to come up against one of the most tactically astute managers in the game in Chelsea head coach Conte, the 53-year-old is hoping the 17 years he has spent in the dugout - including taking charge of more than 400 Premier League games - will serve him well this weekend.
"I think I am more flexible and not rigid in terms of one way of playing in how I play," he said. "You have to have flexibility tactically so that you can respond to things in games when oppositions change their formations, you have to react accordingly.
"So I think I have become more aware of that side of it and better at it and I think that comes with experience.
"I have just finished 400 games at this level, so there are not too many formations or ways of playing that I have not faced before. So those resonate when you come up against them again and you can remember what happened in previous games and be better the next time you come up against that."
Watch Mark Hughes' interview in full in Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports News HQ from midday on Saturday
