Stoke City will be on the hunt for back-to-back victories when they host Birmingham City in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The Potters ended a three-match losing run with a narrow win at Wigan Athletic in the week, whereas Birmingham were held to a goalless draw by Millwall at St Andrew's in a cagey affair.
Match preview
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A 62nd-minute Josh Tymon strike earned Stoke a maximum at the DW Stadium on Wednesday night, leaving Alex Neil's men 17th in the Championship after collecting a steady 22 points from their opening 18 outings.
That win at Wigan came at an important time, as it ended a run of three consecutive losses which had seen the Midlands club slide towards the relegation places in the second tier despite a host of exciting incomings during the summer transfer window.
Dwight Gayle is a signing that many Stoke fans expected to set the division alight when he joined in July, but the ex-West Bromwich Albion man has not scored in 17 league appearances so far, although it is only fair to point out the 33-year-old has provided a team-leading four assists which makes up slightly for a lack of goals.
Midfielder Lewis Baker ended a lifelong association with Chelsea when he moved to Stoke permanently in the summer and is top of the club's goalscoring charts with four goals despite playing in the middle of the park, indicative of the team's forward players struggling to provide regular goal contributions this year.
Neil's men have been a lot more effective on their travels than at the bet365 Stadium, with only eight of their 22 points so far coming in front of their home faithful, suggesting that Stoke are not to be feared by visiting sides as much anymore as they were famously in the Premier League during the last decade.
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Birmingham did not manage a shot on target during their goalless draw with Millwall on Wednesday night, but nevertheless head coach John Eustace was happy his side's effort as they kept their seventh clean sheet of the season.
That shutout at St Andrew's means Blues have only conceded 15 goals in 18 Championship games so far this season, a defensive record better than any other side in the division and representative of brilliant performances from the likes of defenders Auston Trusty and Dion Sanderson during the opening to this campaign.
Since the arrivals of Krystian Bielik and Tahith Chong into the starting XI, Birmingham have only lost twice in 11 games and have been competitive in every single one of those matchups, to the delight of Eustace and the Blues supporters.
Sitting an equal distance from the playoffs and the relegation zone in 13th place, Blues will be keen on extending the gap from the drop zone between now and the World Cup break to further prove pre-season predictors wrong and show the second tier what this close-knit group of players can achieve.
With the ownership situation of the club still rumbling on slowly in the background, Eustace and his staff are doing a remarkable job of keeping the players focused on matters on the field where in past seasons external issues have consumed all concentration and attention.
Team News
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Stoke's Phil Jagielka may be set for a rest when Birmingham visit on Saturday afternoon after the 40-year-old played full 90 minutes in both of his side's fixtures over the past week.
Gavin Kilkenny and Harry Souttar remain sidelined with groin and cruciate ligament injuries respectively, with both unlikely to feature for Stoke until after the World Cup break.
Birmingham have no fresh injury concerns after the midweek stalemate with Millwall but will still be without the services of Gary Gardner (calf) and Przemyslaw Placheta (shin) until after the World Cup.
Marc Roberts resumed first-team training for the first time after a hamstring injury the defender picked up in the win at West Bromwich Albion in September, with the 32-year-old possibly able to play a part in Blues' final game before the break against Sunderland next Friday.
Nico Gordon and George Friend continue to get gametime for the Birmingham Under-21s side after lengthy spells out with their respective injuries.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Wilmot, Jagielka, Fox; Clarke, Thompson, Baker, Tymon, Powell; Brown, Gayle
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Sanderson, Dean, Trusty; Colin, Bielik, Hannibal, Longelo, Bacuna, Chong, Hogan
We say: Stoke City 1-1 Birmingham City
Stoke are enduring an indifferent start to their Championship campaign and will be looking to improve their home form in order to climb up the standings, starting with a positive result against Birmingham.
Birmingham have been a hard nut to crack for most opponents so far this season and will be confident in collecting at least a point on their travels this weekend.
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Top tip
Carter White
