Hosting Stoke City head into their home encounter against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday evening on a negative run of form.
They are without a Premier League win since their 3-1 victory over Liverpool on Boxing Day - a run that stretches back four encounters.
Despite the fact that visiting Wigan are battling against relegation once again, Stoke boss Tony Pulis has warned his players that they will need to be at their best to gain a positive result.
"There are no gimmes in this League and Wigan will be a tough one. They are fighting for their lives and they have been a little bit of a bogey side for us," he told the club's official website. "They are a good side, but we have played well against them for long periods in recent matches, but have not got the results that we have deserved."
Pulis may opt to recall both Charlie Adam and Peter Crouch to his starting lineup, with both having begun the recent FA Cup tie against Manchester City as substitutes.
Visiting Wigan go into the match having not lost to the home side in their last seven meetings, although five of those matches have ended in draws.
Having made his full debut, Manchester United loanee Angelo Henriquez may drop down to the bench, with Franco di Santo due to lead the Wigan attack.
Recent form
Stoke: DWDLLL
Wigan: LLWLDL
Possible starting lineups:
Stoke: Begovic; Whitehead, Huth, Shawcross, Shotton; Etherington, Adam, Nzonzi, Kightly; Walters, Crouch
Wigan: Al-Habsi; Boyce, Caldwell, Figueroa, Stam; McCarthy, McArthur, Gomez, Beausejour; Maloney, Di Santo
Sports Mole says: 2-0
Liam Apicella
