Premier League leaders Chelsea travel to Stoke on Saturday knowing victory will take them 13 points clear at the top of the division.

Antonio Conte’s men will take a step closer to a fifth title in 12 years with all three points at the bet365 Stadium this weekend, and the Blues boss may call upon one man in particular in a bid to overcome the Potters.

And that’s because playing against Stoke appears to bring the best out of Spanish international midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

The 29-year-old has been in and out of the starting eleven in recent months due to the fine form of Nemanja Matic, but with the Serb having started their FA Cup triumph over Manchester United on Monday, yet Fabregas got the nod in their preceding two league clashes, the latter looks set to reclaim his place on Saturday.

And if Conte needed any convincing about whether or not to start the former Arsenal and Barcelona man, he need look no further than his sensational record against the Potters.

The Spaniard has played against the Staffordshire side 12 times in his career thus far, and has been on the winning side on eight occasions, losing only three, one of which did come last season as Chelsea laboured to a 1-0 defeat to Mark Hughes’ side in November 2015.

However, it’s his contributions on the pitch which will be of interest to Conte, who not only saw Fabregas lay on two assists in their 4-2 victory over the Potters in their meeting earlier this term, but will be aware that in eight Premier League starts against Stoke, he has registered nine assists, and found the back of the net twice, both of which have come at the bet365 Stadium.

In fact, in only one of those eight starts did Fabregas fail to directly contribute to a goal, and that was because his afternoon was cut short back in February 2011 due to injury in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium.

That equates to a goal or an assist against Stoke every 60 minutes for Fabregas, and it also makes the Potters one teams he obviously loves playing against, given that he has only directly contributed more goals against Tottenham (two goals, 12 assists) and Bolton (three goals, eight assists) than them.

Thus, Hughes and his men will surely be hoping not to see Fabregas’ name on the team-sheet on Saturday, yet the traveling Chelsea supporters will be, and indeed will be hoping for more Fabregas success against the Potters in a Blues win this weekend.

Guest post by Marcus Oades.