Hartlepool have nothing to lose as they head into this tough assignment against Championship opposition - something that will make a pleasant change from a League Two campaign clouded with relegation worries.
The Potters are heavy favourites to progress into the fourth round, and with Gayle returning to the matchday squad, they without doubt have enough quality to get the better of their fourth-tier hosts on Sunday afternoon.
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Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Stoke City win with a probability of 49.85%. A draw had a probability of 25.1% and a win for Hartlepool United had a probability of 25.02%.
The most likely scoreline for a Stoke City win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.45%) and 0-2 (9.06%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.95%), while for a Hartlepool United win it was 1-0 (7.56%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Stoke City would win this match.
0.86) 
-1.38) 
