Stoke City, who sit 16th in the table, are set to host 10th-placed Bristol City at the Bet365 Stadium on Tuesday evening in the Championship.
The hosts have 11 points from their opening 10 league matches, while the visitors are on 14 points after their first 10 fixtures.
Match preview
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Stoke City have had a mixed start to their 2024-25 season, sitting 16th in the Championship standings with 11 points from their first 10 outings, with three wins, two draws and five losses.
The Potters, who started the campaign under the guidance of Steven Schumacher, began the term with four wins and three losses across all competitions, including an impressive 5-0 win against Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup second round.
However, Stoke still opted to part ways with Schumacher following that third loss of the term against Oxford United, which left them 13th in the table with just six points from five games.
Ryan Shawcross took charge in the 2-1 penalty win against Fleetwood Town in the EFL Cup third round before Narcis Pelach was hired on a permanent basis, and the Spaniard has had a fair start with his new club.
Pelach suffered defeats in his first two games in charge, losing 3-1 to Hull City and 2-0 to Middlesbrough, but bounced back with a fantastic 6-1 triumph over Portsmouth, followed by two draws in their most recent outings.
The Potters will look to extend their unbeaten run with another favourable result against Bristol City on Tuesday, a team they defeated both home and away last season with an aggregate score of 7-2.
Bristol City have been on an upward trajectory in recent seasons, improving from a 19th-placed finish in 2020-21 to 17th in 2021-22, 14th in 2022-23, and most recently placing 11th in 2023-24.
The Robins, looking to improve once again and close the gap on the playoff positions this season, have had a largely positive start to the 2024-25 campaign, currently sitting 10th in the table with 14 points from 10 matches.
Liam Manning's side began the Championship with two draws and a victory before losing back-to-back matches to Derby County and Blackburn Rovers, but they have quickly bounced back as they remain undefeated in their last five, two wins and three draws.
Although they were without manager Manning for their recent meeting with Middlesbrough due to a family tragedy, assistant manager Chris Hogg guided the team to a 2-0 victory, a result that will provide Bristol City with significant confidence heading into this game.
Team News
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Ben Pearson, Bosun Lawal and Lynden Gooch are all unavailable for the hosts due to ongoing injury issues, with the trio not likely to return until later this month at the earliest.
Wouter Burger could also be a doubt for this match after the midfielder was forced off in added time of the first half, with Jordan Thompson likely to replace him here.
Elsewhere, having remained undefeated in their last three outings, Pelach could decide to name a similar side against Bristol City as they aim to extend that streak.
As for the visitors, Ayman Benarous, Cameron Pring, Rob Dickie, Robert Atkinson and Samuel Bell are all ruled out because of various injury issues.
Following their brilliant 2-0 win against Middlesbrough last time out, Bristol City could line up with the same starting 11 as they aim to continue their strong run here.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Wilmot, Rose, Gibson, Stevens; Moran, Thompson; Manhoef, Koumas, Bae; Cannon
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, McNally, McCrorie; Williams, Bird; Hirakawa, Knight, Mehmeti; Wells
We say: Stoke City 1-1 Bristol City
Both teams are experiencing a positive run of results as they approach this game, making them appear rather evenly matched, suggesting that a draw is likely.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
