Jose Mourinho
Mourinho handed a much-needed boost regarding his future Getty Images

Chelsea host Norwich City at the Stamford Bridge on Saturday (21 November) as Jose Mourinho's men look to come back to winning ways after a disastrous start to their season. Consecutive losses against West Ham, Liverpool and Stoke City have left them 16th in the table, only three points clear of the drop zone.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 3pm BST. Radio commentary of the game will be available on BBC Radio 5 live. Highlights of the game will be on BBC Match of the Day at 10.20pm BST on BBC One.

Overview

Jose Mourinho has been given a timely boost by the club's technical director Michael Emenalo, who confirmed that the management is ready to repose their faith in the manager citing the results in his two stints in charge of Chelsea. The Blues manager has won three league titles with Chelsea and has been tipped to rescue the defending champions out of the mess they find themselves in.

The Portuguese manager has had a torrid season so far, getting into altercations with referees, for which he has been fined multiple times, including a stadium ban which he served against Stoke City in early November. With the international break out of the way, all eyes will be on the manager to do a few things differently and inspire the team, which has failed to reach the heights they scaled in the majority of last season. Another loss would, however, make it extremely difficult for them to stake a claim in the top four, which is already 13 points afar.

Norwich come to the Bridge with more than a glimmer of hope, with Alex Neil's team currently above Chelsea in the league table. The Canaries ended a four-game losing streak with a win over Swansea City at home last weekend that has taken them a point above the Blues in the table. A win against Chelsea will, however, be the icing on the cake for Norwich this season and give them the confidence to pull away from the relegation crowd in the days to come.

Norwich will be without Matt Jarvis who is injured but they will be boosted by the return of Nathan Redmond who has overcome a thigh injury to play a part in the squad. Russell Martin is also expected to be back in the squad after serving a one-game suspension against Swansea City.

What Managers Say

Jose Mourinho: "I'm not saying I won't sign [anyone]. I'm saying I won't ask the club to do it," he said. "I don't have the right to do it, in my opinion. I'd be more than happy to be myself and the squad that I have now. I am happy with my players, I trust the players. If I ask for players, or if the club gives me a handful of players, it's like taking the responsibility [away from] us and saying we need extra to reach our objectives. I want to have the responsibility in my hands, I want the players to have the responsibility. I want the players to feel that I trust them and that I don't need other players to reach the objectives. I think we should go together, me and the players. I hope everybody stays and I hope nobody comes."

Alex Neil: "I can't speak for anybody else but I have never had a problem. I try to conduct myself as well as I can. In games there will always be an element of frustration if you feel hard done by, and there has been a few occasions this season when I feel we could have got them in our favour and we didn't but that is ultimately the referee's decision. It is one person's opinion of the matter so those situations will always occur. As far as I am concerned, they have a hard enough job as it is without me making it any harder. There is ways and means of getting your point across to the referees if you feel hard done by. There have been occasions when I have spoken to the referee but as long as you do it in a respectful manner and you approach them in that way most I have found are willing to talk to you. I have no issues at all."

Betting Odds

  • Chelsea Win: 1.43
  • Draw: 4.70
  • Norwich City Win: 8.85

Team News

Chelsea

Possible XI: Begovic; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Willian, Hazard, Pedro; Costa

Noriwch City

Possible XI: Ruddy; Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Brady; Redmond, Tettey, Mulumbu, Hoolahan, Howson; Mbokani

Chelsea FC