Bolton Wanderers vs Stoke City Preview

Oh joy, time for another away game. Only this time its against strong candidates for relegation and a team currently sitting in 19th position after an awful start to the season - Bolton Wanderers. As a Stoke fan I don't need reminding what happened last time these two teams met, the Potters thumped our opponents 5-0 at Wembley where we saw the very best of Stoke and the very worse of Bolton. Lets hope for more of the same on Sunday.

But despite the fantastic memories of that match, this season Stoke have constantly let down it's travelling fans away from home with characterless performances where we revert back to the hoofball tactics we've been wrongly accused of in the past. We also never seem to be brilliant against the sides we should beat, take Sunderland for example, after our away game against Dynamo Kiev we visited the Stadium of Light when the Mackems were not very good at all having not won in the season until that match - they beat Stoke 4-0. Hopefully we can break that post European away day curse this weekend, even a draw would be nice.

Predicted line-up

Begovic

Wilkinson - Shawcross - Woodgate - Wilson

Pennant - Whelan - Delap - Etherington

Walters - Crouch

Couple of maybes, Shawcross and Wilson didn't travel to Israel due to injuries they picked up against Newcastle so they may be a doubt, however they will have had six days rest so hopefully they'll be fit enough to play. Higginbotham should at least make the bench, he played the full match on Thursday and for a player returning from a long term injury it'd be surprising to see him play again - although he could come on as a sub for Wilson or Shawcross in the second half. Pennant and Etherington didn't get game time against Maccabi Tel Aviv so they should be fully fit to bomb down the wings on Sunday to put crosses into a strike force of Walters and Crouch or Jones. 

Predicted score

Bolton Wanderers 1 - 2 Stoke City

Its either going to be that or 1 - 1. Really cannot see us coming home with no points, and if we do it will of course be a massive disappointment. However the nice away win in Europe coupled with Bolton's atrocious form of late means that we should really be getting an absolute minimum of a point from this match. A point in which I would be happy with considering our away from in the league recently.

Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Stoke Preview

Its now two weeks since that strange night at The Britannia Stadium which saw two sendings off, a boot flying towards the linesman and Stoke City scoring three goals. But now its time for it to all happen again, this time though Stoke have to travel to the other side of Europe and beyond (considering Israel isn't geographically considered part of Europe).

Unfortunately for Stoke both Ziv of Tel Aviv and Cameron Jerome of Stoke are suspended from appearing in this game which leaves us a man short, something we really could do without now. With Crouch and Walters both playing 90 minutes on Monday against Newcastle it would be very surprising to see the same front two on Thursday, the only question is who will play with Kenwyne Jones - I believe we will see a strike force of Jones and Walters because lets face it, Jones and Crouch are far too similar to play together.

A positive for Stoke perhaps is the rumoured return of Danny Higginbotham. This article suggests that the 32 year old may feature on Thursday, thus offering a much needed rest to Marc Wilson who went off with a knock against Newcastle. This game should also see Ryan Shotton play, I am hoping to see him start on the wing where he played in the home leg of this tie. He was very impressive and looked superb on the ball, hopefully this game will be 90 minutes that one of either Pennant or Etherington won't feature in.

Predicted line-up

Sorensen

Wilkinson - Huth - Upson - Higginbotham

Shotton - Palacios - Whitehead - Etherington

Walters - Jones

The only possible change to that team would be the midfield, as defensive as Pulis is away from home I'd be surprised if he played two defensive midfielders in this match. Although, after Whelan's performance on Monday night I really wouldn't object to this midfield, we do have Diao on the bench for any extra assistance needed.

Predicted score

Maccabi Tel Aviv 1 - 1 Stoke City

We aren't great away from home in England, never mind thousands of miles away. And with this being the second of three games this week fatigue is sure to affect some of the players. However from what I saw of our opponents two weeks back, they have no end product whatsoever and don't seem to possess any cutting edge up front. Luckily, I think we have the quality to get a point - you never know, we might even scrape three!

Stoke vs Newcastle Preview

Its time to play the in form Newcastle United, everything seems to be going right for them so far with a very impressive league position and the best defensive record in the league. However, Stoke at the Britannia is whole different ball game.

Everyone knows the Britannia is a tough place to come and only the best or luckiest come out with results they're happy with. This will for sure be the first proper test the Toon have had this season, it'll test their strength, speed and defensive quality.

I don't believe Newcastle can fend off Stoke's hungry attack. There's no doubt they've improved since the 4-0 drubbing last season but we've improved too by adding players like Crouch and Palacios as well as the two experienced center backs in Woodgate and Upson. We will beat them on power and height as well as support.

Monday night is when the excellent unbeaten run from Newcastle comes to an end.

Score: 3-1 Stoke. With Demba Ba obviously scoring from them.

Stoke's Season From Now

The transfer window is done and the Premier League season is well under-way. Stoke started their season early, having had to qualify for the Europa League group stage, with wins against Hajduk Split and FC Thun Stoke safely ensured their place in Europe's secondary tournament. So far in the league Stoke are unbeaten, with draws against Chelsea and Norwich followed by an away win at West Brom giving the Potters 5 points in a start to the season that has pleased supporters points wise, but not so much performance wise. Since promotion one tournament Stoke haven't been so successful in is the Carling Cup, of course the club didn't enter the 2nd round due to their European adventure but they will join in the 3rd round where they have drawn Tottenham Hotspur at home. Jonathan Woodgate, Matthew Upson, Wilson Palacios, Peter Crouch and Cameron Jerome have now joined the club and are sure to be busy players now Stoke have extra games to play, but how will the club fare in the competitions they'll compete in this season?

The Premier League

Last season Stoke City finished 13th in the league after a final day loss against Wigan Athletic. Obviously once again Stoke are expected to avoid relegation and the main question is how high up the table they'll end up. My guess, probably a similar finish than last season. Many Stoke fans are expecting a top half finish and who can blame them after some excellent transfer window additions and a manager in Tony Pulis who keeps shocking everyone with how much he has improved this side over the years. However Stoke have a much busier season this year with more mid-week games than ever and sometimes they'll have to travel far into Europe days before a Premier League game because of Europe. This will no doubt have an affect on the stamina of the players and therefore affect their league performances. 11th to 15th is realistic for Stoke this season.

The FA Cup

Last seasons FA Cup was full of unforgettable memories for The Potters last season, beating Bolton 5-0 at Wembley to get the cup final for the first time where they were beaten by moneybags Man City. Surely they can't do that again? Well with Stoke you never know, full of fight and passion it could happen again but last season they were lucky with the teams they had to face. Man City were only top Premier League side they had to face and Stoke cannot hope for a similarly easy draw this time around. Obviously its hard to predict how far into the competition Stoke will get but I think the quarter finals are where their FA Cup will come to an end.

The Europa League

That's right. Stoke City are in a European competition! After that FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City Stoke were awarded a place in Europe, however first they had to get through two qualification ties. The first was against Croatian side Hajduk Split, Stoke won 1-0 home and away. Then came the play-off round, Stoke were drawn against Swiss team FC Thun. In Thun Stoke won 1-0 and at the Britannia The Potters easily secured a group stage spot with a comprehensive 4-1 victory. City will now play Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the group stage. Although I believe we have a squad capable of beating whatever is put before them the long distances the team will travel added to the busy schedule of games back in England mean the players will be very tired and not as sharp as they have been in the recent past. Furthermore Besiktas and Dynamo Kiev are very good sides who both have Champions League experience. Whilst it will be a fantastic time for the players and supporters the group is tough and I can't see Stoke getting beyond it. 3rd place finish for the Potters is what I expect.

The Carling Cup

Stoke join the 2011-12 Carling Cup in the 3rd round where they will play Tottenham Hotspur. This isn't a competition that has been top of the agenda for Tony Pulis who has always focused on the Premiership and FA Cup, I hope that once again Pulis saves his best team for the other competitions. With extra games to play the last thing that Stoke need is more games through advancing further in the Carling Cup. Luckily having drawn Spurs we are coming up against a side that are much better than us and should beat us. However the home advantage means that Stoke have a fantastic chance of progressing. Obviously as a Stoke supporter there is nothing I'd like more than to get to the latter stages of another tournament knowing how enjoyable the superb FA Cup run of last season was but as I've already said the league is priority number one, and both the FA Cup and Europa League are more important to Stoke this season. Its hard to predict how far Stoke will go, but I wouldn't surprised to see us lose to Spurs.