Sunderland make the trip to the Potteries on Saturday and everyone will be hoping that the lads can pull off a win.
The two teams occupy the bottom two places which is something of a surprise as far as Stoke are concerned as they have changed their style of football over the last few seasons and are arguably just as exciting to watch when on form as any of the bigger clubs in the league.
But this season City have got off to a bad start, this has been down to injuries, the biggest of which is obviously Jack Butland, their quite brilliant goalkeeper.
Butland has kept the Potters in many games in the past, but he has been missing this season so far and the side have suffered for it.
Hopefully, the Black Cats will be able to take advantage of Stoke’s lacking in the last line of defence, although it should be noted that they do have a loan keeper in from Derby County called Lee Grant and he has proved himself, no more so than at Manchester United two weeks ago when Stoke got a creditable 1-1 draw there.
Vital Quotes:
David Moyes:‘The one thing I have to say is that all the injures we are getting are getting picked up in games.
‘Does that make it any better? No. But it is not as if we are running them too hard and doing too much in training.
‘It is the opposite. We are getting them all in games, I think Vito Mannone was the only one we didn’t get in a game.
‘We just have to live with it. Every football club gets injuries. We are getting our fair share of them at the moment.
‘We have lost a few players long-term, people like Seb Larsson was probably carrying an injury from the Euros.
‘It sounds like Lee Cattermole has been carrying an injury for a year or so.
‘Two players back from international duty are doubts, Lamine Kone and Jason Denayer. There is very little you can do about that.
‘Lamine finished the game, though, and that`s why I don`t want to totally rule him out.
‘I always tend to think that if you finish the game, you`re not too bad, so we`ll wait and see where he is before making a decision.
‘At the moment we are losing two or three players a game and that is a real problem.
‘People mention us having to change the team but it is down to injuries as much as anything.
‘We have been able to give younger players games though, as a result.
‘Jordan Pickford and Lynden Gooch have done well, so there are some good things to come out of it.’
Mark Hughes:“It is one that we need to win, and one that we feel we can win.
“I have the confidence in the team to win the game but Sunderland will come here and they won’t want to get beat.
“If we can get the three points at the weekend then we will very quickly build our season – that is the feeling we all share within the building.”
“Sunderland may come here with a defensive mindset, but clearly they have threats on the break with the likes of Jermain Defoe, so we have to be mindful of that.
“We understand what they offer and we will need to be vigilant.”
Stoke City Team News:
Stoke (from): Given, Grant, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Cameron, Bardsley, Pieters, Muniesa, Imbula, Allen, Whelan, Adam, Arnautovic, Sobhi, Shaqiri, Diouf, Bony, Bojan, Crouch, Walters.
Player to watch: Marko Arnautovic
‘Arnie’, as the Stoke faithful call him is often brilliant when on form and has the ability to turn any defence inside out. Scored two goals for Austria against Wales last Thursday.
Sunderland Team News:
Sunderland (from): Pickford, Mika, Love, Manquillo, Djilobodji, O’Shea, McNair, Van Aanholt, J. Robson, T. Robson, Rodwell, Gooch, Khazri, E. Robson, Honeyman, Defoe, Asoro, Watmore, Anichebe, Maja.
Player to watch: Jermaine Defoe
Sunderland will be hoping that his experience can pay dividends against Stoke.
Match Facts & Stats
Stoke have won 40%, drawn 25% and lost 35% of their last 20 home games.
In their last 20 home games against teams positioned in the bottom half of the table, Stoke have won 13, drawn 3 and lost 4 of these matches.
In their last 20 home games against teams positioned below them in the table, Stoke have won 14, drawn 4 and lost 2 of these matches.
Sunderland have won 15%, drawn 30% and lost 55% of their last 20 away games.
In their last 20 away games against teams positioned in the bottom half of the table, Sunderland have won 5, drawn 10 and lost 5 of these matches.
In their last 20 away games against teams positioned above them in the table, Sunderland have won 3, drawn 6 and lost 11 of these matches.(https://www.kickoff.co.uk)
Ref Watch:
Mike Jones is the referee.
More details CLICK HERE
Match Prediction:
0-0 draw
Next Fixtures:
PREMIER LEAGUE Sat 22 Oct 2016
West Ham v Sunderland
CAPITAL ONE CUP Weds 26 Oct 2016
Southampton v Sunderland
