Stoke & Staffordshire

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  1. Pick of the stats: Stoke City v Blackburn Roverspublished at 11:07 11 March

    Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers club badges

    Stoke City are without a win from their past four Championship matches with Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Coventry their third loss in that run.

    The Potters are four points clear of the relegation zone as they prepare to host Blackburn on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

    Rovers are three points outside the play-off places but yet to win under new head coach Valerien Ismael.

    • Stoke City have won four of their past six league games against Blackburn Rovers (L2), keeping a clean sheet in three of those wins.

    • Blackburn Rovers have won four of their past six away league games against Stoke City (L2), winning this exact fixture 3-0 last season which is their joint-biggest away league victory over the Potters alongside another 3-0 win in December 1889.

    • Stoke have only lost one of their past six home league games (W2 D3), keeping four clean sheets in that time, as many as in their previous 17 league matches on home soil.

    • Blackburn have only lost two of their past eight midweek league games (W4 D2), though those two defeats have come in their past three such games (0-2 v Coventry, 1-2 v QPR).

    • Stoke boss Mark Robins is unbeaten in his last eight Championship games against Blackburn (W3 D5), winning each of his past three at home with Coventry from November 2022 to October 2024.

  2. I'm trying not to 'throw myself around as much' - Gallagherpublished at 17:55 10 March

    Stoke City's Sam Gallagher has the ball under his arm as he is congratulated by a team-mate after scoring a goalImage source, Getty Images

    Fit-again Stoke City striker Sam Gallagher says he is trying to fulfil boss Mark Robins' request to not "throw himself around as much" during games in an attempt to safeguard his fitness for the rest of the season.

    Gallagher, a summer signing from Blackburn, has had a frustrating time with the Potters seeing a succession of injuries limit his game time.

    Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Coventry City was only Gallagher's 13th appearance of the campaign but his two goals underscored his importance to Stoke's attempts to stay clear of relegation trouble.

    "It's been really tough coming into the club and getting injured early on and then working so hard to get back fit and then having another setback which maybe could have been prevented with different kind of management - [by] easing into the game," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

    "That's what we've done now. I've not pushed too much too soon, which I think has put me in a good spot."

    Gallagher's appearance as a half-time substitute breathed life into the Potters' fortunes against Robins' old club at the CBS Arena as his two goals brought Stoke back from 2-0 down to level with four minutes to go.

    But Brandon Thomas-Asante's stoppage-time winner snatched the points for Frank Lampard's play-off chasers - a result Gallagher called "a kick in the teeth".

    "Personally, for me to have a few more minutes back in the team after a bit of time out is good for my confidence," he said. "But the result in the end is more important."

    With 10 games to go, Stoke are only four points above the relegation zone and face Gallagher's old club Blackburn next up on Wednesday.

    Despite the pressure to stay up mounting, Gallagher, 29, says he needs to be sensible over managing his body - something Robins has highlighted.

    "[He said] just not to just throw myself around as much," Gallagher said.

    "I'm not 20 any more and I can't run my legs off until they fall off every game. But maybe being a bit smarter and trying to manage myself... I feel like I've found a bit of a routine which is working so hopefully it stays that way."