Mark Hughes admitted his decision to field a weakened team against Chelsea, who coasted to a 5-0 win at Stamford Bridge, has increased the pressure on him in advance of Monday’s showdown with Newcastle.
Hughes was deprived of his first-choice defence but chose to compound those absences by omitting Joe Allen, Xherdan Shaqiri and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, all of whom should be fit for the visit of Newcastle to the Bet365 Stadium.
That match has assumed pivotal importance in the wake of the thrashing here, which has left Stoke with the worst defensive record in the Premier League and perilously close to the bottom three. Hughes said that calculated gamble will be justified if his team beat Rafael Benítez’s side.
“We knew Chelsea had the quality to hurt us ... so I made decisions that I feel will help us with the game on Monday,” said Hughes. “I rested players who will be fresh. The decisions weren’t easy but if we can get the win, that would give us two wins, a draw and a defeat to Chelsea over Christmas, which would be a good return. The landscape of the game changes completely on Monday.”
With Ryan Shawcross and Bruno Martins Indi injured and the Chelsea loanee Kurt Zouma ruled out, the defence that Hughes deployed featured two centre-backs who had not partnered each other before, Geoff Cameron and Kevin Wimmer, and a pair of 18-year-old full-backs, Tom Edwards and Josh Tymon.
That rearguard received scant protection from a midfield comprising two players who had not started a league match this season, Charlie Adam and Ibrahim Afellay. That defence was breached after three minutes when Antonio Rüdiger scored for Chelsea, who helped themselves to four more goals.
“We had two young lads playing at a level way above what they’ve been playing in recent years,” said Hughes. “The back four have not played together before. And I put in players who haven’t played much but have been banging on the door for opportunities. It was always going to be difficult for us. But we didn’t start well and there were collective and individual errors.”
Antonio Conte was delighted with how effortless his team made the victory appear, practically securing the three points by scoring three times in the first 23 minutes. That closed the gap with Manchester City as Chelsea moved into second place, but Conte suggested he is thinking about securing a spot in the top four more than challenging for the title.
“For us and the other top team in England it will be very tough [to catch City],” he said. “We have to know that we face five tough months because we have to fight for a place in the Champions League and it won’t be easy to reach this target.”