Stoke City will play their first pre-season friendly ahead of the 2023-24 Championship campaign on Saturday, when they travel to Meadow Lane to take on Notts County.
The Potters are preparing for their sixth straight season in England's second tier, while their hosts made a return to League Two through the National League playoffs at the end of last term.
Match preview
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Notts County headed into this pre-season campaign on a high, after sealing their return to England's fourth tier last time around following an eye-catching National League season.
In a dramatic tussle with Wrexham, the Magpies eventually fell short of the only automatic promotion spot, despite amassing an eye-catching tally of 107 points in their 46 league outings, and had to settle for a place in the playoffs as a result.
With the playoff semi-finals contested over a single leg, Luke Williams's side then looked confined to another season in non-league as they trailed 2-0 against Boreham Wood, but a double from Aden Baldwin, with the latter coming seven minutes into injury time, forced a spell of extra time, which Jodi Jones scored in at the death to book their place at Wembley in dramatic fashion.
The Magpies would meet Chesterfield in the capital and again relied on a late goal to force extra time, as they trailed by a goal to nil until John Bostock's 88th-minute leveller, and after Ruben Rodrigues drew them level for the second time in the additional half-hour, the tie went to a penalty shootout which Notts County prevailed in to seal their return to the football league after four years in the fifth tier.
Having already kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 3-0 victory over Nuneaton Borough on Tuesday, with Macaulay Langstaff, Jim O'Brien and Cedwyn Scott getting on the scoresheet, the Magpies will look to continue their preparations for the League Two return with a positive result on home turf against second-tier opposition.
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They meet a Stoke City side who turn their attention to a first full season under the management of Alex Neil, and their sixth consecutive term in the Championship.
Following the departure of Michael O'Neill early last term, the Scottish boss departed Sunderland to take over at the Potters, and in his 40 league games in charge, they managed 46 points.
That tally resulted in an eventual 16th-placed finish in England's second tier, although they were set up to push for a top-half spot, only to endure a dismal end to the campaign, in which they went seven league matches without a victory, while suffering five defeats in the process, culminating in a 2-0 beating away at Watford on the final day in the beginning of May.
Surely left disappointed by that end after a positive run in the first months of the new year, Stoke will be keen to improve and sustain a bid for a higher finish this time around, and they will hope to kick off pre-season in style in Nottingham before Levante, Derby County, Burton Albion and Everton in the coming weeks.
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Notts County fielded two different XIs for the two halves of their friendly against Nuneaton Borough last time out, and we could see plenty of rotation here too, with Jodi Jones also expected to come into the mix, having sat out on Tuesday after only recently returning from international duty with Malta.
Key man Ruben Rodrigues, who starred in the promotion-winning campaign with 19 goals and 15 assists in the National League last term, departed for Oxford United in the summer, but the Magpies have thus far retained the services of striker Macaulay Langstaff, who broke the record for the most goals in a National League season last time around with 41 in 45 games before the playoffs.
He could be supported by veteran David McGoldrick, who returned to the club in the summer after scoring 22 goals in 39 League One appearances for Derby County last time around, while defensive spots will be up for grabs, particularly in the absence of Aden Baldwin, who missed Tuesday's friendly as a precaution and could slowly ease into the pre-season campaign in the coming weeks.
Stoke City head into pre-season with a squad ready for a rebuild, having announced the departures of the likes of Phil Jagielka, Morgan Fox, Aden Flint, Sam Clucas and Nick Powell over the summer.
Thus far, the only arrival has been Enda Stevens, and he could earn a start on the left-hand side against former Sheffield United teammate McGoldrick after arriving on a free transfer from the Blades at the beginning of July.
Jacob Brown, Tyrese Campbell and Dwight Gayle will all be keen to impress in attack and stake their claims for regular football this term, while Josh Laurent and Lewis Baker are set to remain key men in midfield, with Ben Wilmot currently one of the only senior figures in defence alongside Stevens, following the departures of Flint, Jagielka and Fox.
Notts County possible starting lineup:
Stone; Brindley, Cameron, Chicksen; O'Brien, Bostock, Palmer, Crowley; McGoldrick, Jones; Langstaff
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bonham; Edwards, Wilmot, Taylor, Stevens; Baker, Laurent, Thompson; Brown, Gayle, Campbell
We say: Notts County 2-2 Stoke City
Notts County will still be on a high from last season's exploits and with the League Two season in their sights, while Stoke are yet to fully rebuild their squad after the series of departures and ahead of the new term, and we anticipate a tight contest at Meadow Lane with Williams's side more than capable of causing problems for the Potters.
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Sam Varley
