Two of the early pace-setters in the Championship go head to head at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday evening, when Stoke City host Bournemouth.
The home side's strong start to the season has renewed hope throughout the club after a disappointing couple of years, whilst the visitors sit at the top of the table after an unbeaten start to the campaign.
Match preview
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Manager Michael O'Neill has put together a strong squad of players that have taken to his methods in impressive fashion at the start of the new season.
After disappointing bottom-half finishes in their three years since relegation from the Premier League, the Potters have finally managed to recover and rebuild, and appear revitalised with a new lease of life at the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign.
Six wins from the opening 12 league fixtures leave City in fifth place heading into Tuesday's fixture against a fellow promotion-hopeful, with a playoff spot surely being the minimum aim come May after this start.
One of the key reasons for the early success is the return of the bet365 Stadium fortress, after it caused so many problems throughout the years during their stay in the Premier League, but had lost its fear factor during the disappointing recent years.
Five wins and a draw from the six matches on home soil so far mean that the fear factor has returned for opponents visiting Stoke, and with victories over the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Huddersfield Town there already, O'Neill will be looking for an intense atmosphere to continue when Bournemouth visit on Tuesday.
However, after a strong run of form had lifted Stoke into the playoffs before the international break, O'Neill's side did suffer a minor setback at the weekend, when they threw away a 1-0 lead in the final 10 minutes at fellow promotion-chasers Sheffield United.
After wrestling back control of possession during a fairly even encounter, Jacob Brown's second-half goal had Stoke rising to third in the table, before a late fightback from their hosts condemned them to just their third league defeat of the season.
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Meanwhile, Bournemouth head to Stoke on Tuesday as early favourites for promotion to the Premier League, after new manager Scott Parker has led the Cherries to top of the table after the first 12 fixtures.
Brought in from Fulham in the summer to build on the disappointing defeat in the playoffs in 2020-21, Parker has freshened up the south-coast side by introducing a couple of youngsters to his possession-hungry style of play.
The young duo of Jordan Zemura and Jaidon Anthony down their left-hand side have been a revelation, with the former netting his third goal of the season at the weekend from the full-back position.
That goal arrived in a 2-0 win at Bristol City, in what was an extremely comfortable victory for the visitors after dominating possession - 74% - and attempting 22 shots on goal compared to just the five from their opponents.
Jamal Lowe had opened the scoring earlier in the first half, with the result extending Bournemouth's unbeaten start to the Championship season to 12 matches, which leaves them three points clear at the summit already.
Parker knows his side will have to replicate this form against a strong outfit in midweek, one that they have actually defeated four times in their last six meetings.
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Team News
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Stoke have no players ruled out heading into Tuesday's match as it stands currently, although there are doubts over the availability of four players in total.
Squad players Morgan Fox, Alfie Doughty and Abdallah Sima remain unlikely to feature through various injuries, whilst important forward of last season Tyrese Campbell is yet to feature so far this campaign, and he continues to rebuild his fitness at the moment.
As for the visitors, David Brooks is unavailable for the foreseeable future after his recent tragic diagnosis with cancer, which received an outpouring of emotion from the football world over the last week.
Full-back Adam Smith missed out at the weekend due to a knee problem so remains doubtful, whilst Lewis Cook is highly unlikely to feature as he nears his return from his most recent long-term knee injury.
In positive news for the visitors, though, Ben Pearson returns from a one-match suspension and should slot immediately back into Parker's midfield.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Davies; Chester, Souttar, Wilmot; Smith, Allen, Sawyers, Tymon; Powell, Vrancic; Brown
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Stacey, Cahill, Kelly, Zemura; Lerma, Billing, Pearson; Christie, Solanke, Anthony
We say: Stoke City 1-1 Bournemouth
It is a tough match to call at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday, with both sides making such strong starts to the season and the hosts being so strong at home in particular.
For this reason, we are predicting a 1-1 draw, with little to call between the two teams heading into this one.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bournemouth win with a probability of 43.49%. A win for Stoke City had a probability of 28.65% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.51%) and 0-2 (8.46%). The likeliest Stoke City win was 1-0 (9.95%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 12.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Bournemouth in this match.
