With the opportunity to leapfrog their visitors in the early second-tier standings, Stoke City will host West Bromwich Albion at the bet365 Stadium in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The Potters suffered a heavy defeat at the home of Watford last time out, whilst the Baggies shared the spoils with a promotion rival at The Hawthorns.
Match preview
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After a 17th-placed finish in the Championship during the 2023-24 season, ending up just six points above Birmingham City in the highest of the relegation spots, Stoke City are planning to compete for an unlikely promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 2018.
The Potters' quest for a top-flight berth commenced positively during the opening weekend of the fresh campaign on August 10, when a second-half strike from former Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker proved to be the only decisive moment in a clash with Coventry City at the bet365 Stadium.
Stoke went on to make it two wins in the space of four days on August 13, with goals following the half-time break from youngsters Freddie Anderson and Emre Tezgel securing a 2-0 victory at League Two Carlisle United in the first round of the EFL Cup, setting up a clash with Middlesbrough next week.
Following back-to-back wins and clean sheets, Steven Schumacher's troops were brought quickly back down to earth last weekend at Vicarage Road, where a brace from Edo Kayembe and Ryan Andrews's first of the season resulted in a convincing 3-0 victory for Tom Cleverley's Hornets.
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Losing a host of key first-team players over the summer following their defeat in the semi-finals of the playoffs in May, West Brom have commenced their mission for promotion in 2024-25 relatively strongly, collecting four points from two matches against Queens Park Rangers and Leeds United.
The Baggies were one of the biggest winners on the opening weekend of the Championship season as they visited the home of Marti Cifuentes's R's, with former Fulham and Sunderland marksman Josh Maja netting a sensational hat-trick at Loftus Road to provide a memorable away day for the Black Country outfit.
A much-changed Albion side - packed full of Under-21 players - exited this campaign's EFL Cup at the first round owing to a 2-1 defeat at Highbury Stadium against League Two Fleetwood Town, who are now looking forward to a meeting with Rotherham United in the next stage.
Carlos Corberan's side maintained their unbeaten start to the second-tier season in rather underwhelming fashion last weekend, when both Alex Palmer and Illan Meslier kept clean sheets at The Hawthorns as West Brom and promotion-chasing Leeds United played out a goalless draw.
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Team News
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Stoke remain without the services of centre-back Michael Rose, who is yet to feature in a competitive fixture this season due to a sprained ankle.
The Potters are also unable to call upon the talents of Sam Gallagher, with the ex-Blackburn Rovers man recovering from a troublesome calf injury.
West Brom received a double fitness boost last weekend against Leeds, with both Jed Wallace and Grady Diangana making their first appearances of the season.
Despite Gianluca Frabotta's availability, Torbjorn Heggem is set to continue at left-back following a pair of solid displays in the Championship.
Jayson Molumby and Alex Mowatt will provide the quality and energy from the base of the midfield, meaning that summer arrival Ousmane Diakite will have to settle for a spot on the bench.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Tchamadeu, Wilmot, Gibson, Bocat; Laurent, Thompson, Manhoef, Burger, Gooch; Mmaee
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Heggem; Molumby, Mowatt, Fellows, Swift, Grant; Maja
We say: Stoke City 1-2 West Bromwich Albion
On the contrary to last season, West Brom were dominant on the road against QPR a fortnight ago and will be confident of producing a similar performance in Staffordshire.
Last weekend's thumping at Watford might have taken the wind out of the Stoke sails, so we are predicting back-to-back defeats for the Potters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
