Who would’ve guessed City would be turning up to Stoke off the back of a resounding win over Manchester United in their opening fixture?
Well, here we are! And what a performance it was, but the attention turns immediately from that magical opening day victory to the first match in the Second Round of the EFL Cup, where City make their way to the Bet365 Stadium to take on Championship side Stoke City.
Opponent Observations
The Potters have endured a rough start to their 26/27 season. Unusually, as was the case for all EFL sides outside of the top 20, they started the season in the First Round of the EFL Cup, beating League Two side Oldham Athletic 2-0 at home, thanks to a heroic goalkeeping performance from Swedish shot-stopper Viktor Johansson.
Stoke have since started their Championship campaign with back-to-back losses, firstly at home against last season’s late dark horses Swansea, where they lost 2-1 and most recently against Public Enemy Number One (Southampton), conceding twice and getting a man sent off, all within the dying moments after being level for the vast majority of the game.
They currently sit within the bottom three, although that doesn’t really mean too much this early in the season, but if you compare it to the way that the Potters began their campaign this time last year, it is a stark contrast, where they found themselves breathing down Coventry City’s neck at the other end of the table.
Head-to-Head
City have been on the receiving end of more defeats than victories when both sides have met recently, winning just six of their last 21 meetings. The Potters have won on twelve occasions and the remaining three ended with the spoils shared.
The last time both sides met in the EFL Cup was almost exactly 10 years ago! On the 21st of September 2016, at what was then called the Britannia, City beat Stoke 2-1 thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Markus Henriksen.
Fun fact: In the last six, yes, SIX fixtures between both sides, the away side has won on every occasion!
Key Players
Ethan Galbraith (Left)
The former Manchester United academy graduate has been a big talking point in terms of the transfer ongoings across the EFL, with a reported sum of ten million pounds being spent on the versatile 25-year-old, who scored in Stoke’s most recent game against the Saints.
Galbraith arrived from fellow Championship outfit Swansea City after spending only a single season in South Wales, following a breakout campaign the season prior with Leyton Orient, where he made 51 appearances across all competitions, scoring six goals and racking up a further eight assists from right back.
Viktor Johansson (Middle)
The Swede, who was actually linked with the Tigers earlier in the summer window, has remained as one of Stoke’s key performers, now donning the Captain’s armband.
He was unfortunately kept out of the starting lineup for the Potters for pretty much the entirety of the second half of last season, thanks to a hefty shoulder injury.
Johansson’s absence ultimately led to the demise of Stoke’s strong and promising start to last season, where they ended up finishing in a lowly 17th after spending so much time inside the top six, demonstrating how much he brings to Mark Robins’ Stoke City side.
Sorba Thomas (Right)
Thomas was one of the best players across the Championship last season, where he got 21 combined goal involvements, scoring 10 times and assisting 11.
Linked heavily with a move away from Staffordshire this summer, Thomas has (so far) stuck with the Potters, with the hopes of re-creating the numbers he put up last season and being a key part in helping his side get over the dotted line and into the highly coveted, now extended playoff places.
Their Last Few
Pre-season
Stoke City 0 - 1 Braga
Crewe Alexandra 1 - 1 Stoke City
Chester FC 0 - 1 Stoke City
Stoke City 1 - 0 Everton
Stoke City 1 - 1 Valencia
26/27 Season so far Stoke City 2 - 0 Oldham Athletic
Stoke City 1 - 2 Swansea City
Southampton 3 - 1 Stoke City
Predictions
My predictions for the starting lineup to take on the Potters are as follows…
From left to right:
Goalkeeper: Dillon Phillips
Left Back: Matt Targett
Centre Back: Lucas Herrington
Centre Back: Paddy McNair
Right Back: Cody Drameh
Defensive Midfield: Lucas Gourna-Douath
Defensive Midfield: Regan Slater
Attacking Midfield: Jens Hjerto-Dahl
Left Wing: Liam Millar
Striker: Oli McBurnie
Right Wing: Mohamed Belloumi
Scoreline
It’s a tough one to call, because the lineup really does dictate the scoreline (I know it sounds obvious), but I think City can and will win no matter what the boss decides to run with.
Whether it is a full-strength side to keep the momentum flowing or a slightly rotated team to give some players more minutes on top of those they gathered during pre-season, I’m going with a 2-0 away win for the Tigers, to probably end up getting knocked out by Donny Rovers in the Third Round anyway ;)
Final Thoughts…
It’ll be good to see a few more new faces get more minutes in what you’d expect to be a rotated side, or one with at least one or two changes from the one that beat Manchester United on the weekend (never ever going to stop mentioning that, by the way).
It doesn’t look likely that we’ll see any new signings come in beforehand, but there are murmurings of a few more new faces on the immediate horizon, who I’m sure we’ll see in due course.
Lastly, safe travels to everyone making the trip! And as always,Up the Tigers!!
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