Stoke City

Image source, Getty

Stoke City's flying Dutchman, Million Manhoef, says he's started to adjust to the pace and physicality of English football.

The 22-year-old made the switch from the Dutch Eredivisie to the Championship in January having spent all his career at Vitesse.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke he explained the challenges of adapting to a different league:

"In Holland I can win duals easier, I don't have to put in my full force to win duals, but here if I don't do it then I can lose some. I have to sharpen every dual here because everyone is being as strong."

The winger has started seven games for Steven Schumacher's side and scored two goals. He believes that there is still more to come:

"I will get more stronger and faster and use my body better, which will make my game better."

He added, "I think I can improve, I'm small but I'm quite stocky and strong. I still lose more duals than I should but that's an improvement point so I'm not satisfied. I think overall my game has been quite ok but hopefully it will get better and better."

Image source, Getty Images

Stoke City midfielder Wouter Burger will be available for Saturday's game vs Plymouth Argyle at the Bet365 Stadium.

The Dutchman was substituted off in the 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday following a head collision, but tests since have shown no sign of concussion.

Junior Tchamadeu is also edging closer to a first team return after playing 45 minutes for the U21's in their recent 3-0 defeat to Leicester City.

However, Ryan Mmaee, Lynden Gooch and Ben Pearson all remain out on the sidelines with their own respective hamstring injuries.

With Stoke City preparing to face Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, we asked you to send in your score predictions and thoughts as to what the outcome of the game could be.

Here are some of the responses that we received:

Adrian: This is the weekend we close the trap door! It's a must win and we will win. Plymouth will not be bothered about playing their ex-manager, they will be concentrating on getting a result which keeps their trap door closed. Stoke win 3-1. Let's not "boo", it doesn't help. Remember, "We'll be with you, every step along the way... City, City".

Jack: Stoke have been very disappointing all season, little sign of togetherness and team spirit with the desire to win. Whatever the outcome of the remaining three matches, there needs to be a major rid out of those under-performing players. I predict that Plymouth will win 2-1 on Saturday and we'll be well beaten by Southampton the following week...

Chris: Stoke are looking at a 1-1 draw and praying no one below them wins. Stoke can fight back to a draw but can't seem to win. No defence and give away stupid goals. Stoke pay a fortune for bad performances on the pitch. It's about time a team took responsibility.

Alan: We have been too passive as a team all season, lacking in ideas, defensively weak and with no regular striker. It’s no great surprise we are where we are in the Championship, but this Saturday, it will all come together for us and we’ll win 2-0.

David: Plymouth will win as their players seem way more up for it than the Stoke squad... and against their old manager... even more to gee them up. 2-0 to the visitors I think.

Steve: 3-1.

• Stoke City are unbeaten in their last 19 home league games against Plymouth Argyle (W13 D6), keeping 11 clean sheets across that time.

• The Pilgrims will be looking to claim a first ever league double over Saturday's hosts in the EFL after winning the reverse fixture 2-1 back in December.

• The Potters have won just two of their last 14 Championship games at the Bet365 Stadium (D6 L6), a run during which they have failed to score in eight separate matches.

• So far this season, Neil Dewsnip's side have won just three of their 21 away league games (D7 L11), though each of those victories have come across their last seven such matches whilst also keeping a clean sheet.

• Since Steven Schumacher’s first game in charge of Stoke City, the red and whites (24) have won just two more points than this weekend's visitors (22) in the Championship.

Image source, Stoke City

Stoke City U21's defender Jaden Dixon has won the Broxap Outstanding Academy Achievement award for March.

The Potters centre-back made his international debut for England U17's in their European Championship qualifiers last month, while also making 15 appearances throughout this season in the Premier League 2.

Congratulating the 16-year-old on his accolade, Academy Director Gareth Owen told the club website:

“Jaden has had a really good season so far and he fully deserves this award.

“He knows there is plenty of work to do to improve and we’ll continue to support him however we can to ensure he fulfils his potential.

“We’ve had a number of our younger players represent England this season including Nathan Lowe, Tommy Simkin and Sol Sidibe, and to see Jaden join that group is so pleasing for everyone in the Academy and the Football Club.”

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of Stoke City's upcoming home game vs Plymouth Argyle, Steven Schumacher has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference.

The Potters head coach discussed facing his former side, the atmosphere he wants fans to create at home and the return of Luke Cundle.

Plymouth: "Plymouth Argyle are going to be so up for this game because they are coming up against their ex-manager, so we need to make sure that we are ready for that and be better than them in all departments. Our job as the coaching staff is to take all emotion away from it and just speak about what's in front of us."

Supporters: "Our fans have been really good, I can honestly say that. We want the Bet365 at the weekend to be absolutely bouncing in our favour. We want to try as best as we can to keep the Argyle fans quiet and that's over to us as staff and players to get the result that we all desperately want."

Luke Cundle: "He hasn't had the game time that he wanted, but he trains the same. His personality, his enthusiasm for the game and his energy is why I brought him here because that's what we needed. He's been brilliant."

Stoke City welcome Plymouth Argyle to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday in a crunch match which sees both teams needing to win to avoid relegation.

The Potters head into this game off the back of a 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday, so they will be hoping to go one better and take maximum points this weekend.

Can Steven Schumacher secure victory over his previous club?

Will Stoke beat the drop?

Get involved by sending us your score predictions and thoughts using the online form below.

Have your say here...

Image source, Getty Images

Stoke City signed Michael Rose on a free transfer from Coventry City last summer, and he's been a regular feature of the first team ever since, playing more minutes, external than any of his teammates this season.

The Potters defender has admitted that he's content with his time at the club so far, but insists that his only aim is to retain the team's status in the Championship:

"It's been pretty mad to be honest. Difficult as well because I've never experienced managers getting sacked and a lot of change happening. This is the first time I've had it in a season.

"I'm sure I'll learn a lot from it and build on it for next season. I've played a lot of games so I'm happy in that regard personally, but my focus is now on the weekend and just making sure that this club stays up."

Ahead of Saturday's meeting with Plymouth Argyle, Rose added that the squad aren't phased by the fact that they are playing Steven Schumacher's former side:

"For the players, it's probably a little bit different because we don't have as much emotion to the game as the gaffer or as Plymouth, so for us, it's just a game that we have to focus on ourselves. Go and attack the game and try and win it."

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of Stoke City's game vs Plymouth Argyle, BBC Radio Stoke spoke to opposition fan Joe Bell from the 'Green and White, external' podcast to preview the reunion between Steven Schumacher and his former club.

"There's going to be a real spice to it. You can't play it down. It's important that our players strip away the emotion because they could easily get carried away trying to get one over on the previous boss.

"You always want to impress somebody who's let you down and that's the feeling that was amongst the dressing room at the time."

When asked which of his players could pose the biggest threat this weekend, he said:

"Morgan Whittaker. The bloke's a genius. So many assists, so many goals, creative player. He's the one to keep an eye on."

Delivering his score prediction, Bell added:

"I think it's a more important game for Stoke than us with you playing Southampton afterwards, whereas we've got Millwall.

"It'll be a tight affair. We'll be trying our hardest to get the win. I do have green tinted glasses on so I'm going to say we're going to nick it 2-1 when it looks set for a 1-1 draw."

Image source, Getty Images

Former Stoke City defender Mike Pejic believes that Steven Schumacher needs to find more consistency in his team selection moving forward.

The Potters head coach has shown that he's not afraid to make changes to his starting line-up, but the veteran is adamant that it's not helping performances or results:

"Something is just not quite clicking and it may be because of constant change. You've got to have a settled team to get the best out of your players and cover up the weaknesses.

"You're not going to do that with constant change so you have to look at yourself as a coach. 'Am I doing the right thing?'

"You should always be doing that even when you're winning. You're still looking to get better.

"It's a big ask now having drawn three and lost one in the last four games, but we're fortunate to have Plymouth at home on Saturday."

Image source, Getty Images

Potters midfielder Bae Junho has impressed during his debut season at the club after joining from South Korean side Daejeon Hana Citizen last summer.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, George Weaver from 'Potterlytics, external' named the 20-year-old as the one player who could most help avoid relegation to League One:

"In terms of that calmness on the ball and being able to play through teams, he really does bring an extra dimension to that midfield. Being able to receive it in those half spaces and be able to play off to other people.

"We saw his little dummy on Saturday that let Campbell set up the Cundle goal. Just a little bit of that in a game, even when you're not on top, can really turn things around."

Image source, Stoke City

Stoke City's U21's were beaten 3-0 by Leicester City in the Premier League 2 at the Seagrave training ground on Monday.

The Foxes went 2-0 up inside ten minutes with a brace from Oliver James Ewing, before Logan Briggs added a late third to secure all three points.

Lead coach Ryan Shawcross named Junior Tchamadeu in his starting line-up, with the defender stepping up his recovery from injury by playing 45 minutes.

The Potters face Newcastle United at the Bet365 Stadium on 26 April in their last fixture of the season where they could qualify for the elimination play-offs.

Image source, Getty

Stoke City's Michael Rose knows that the club's Championship fate is in their own hands and that the players need to make sure relegation is avoided.

The Potters take on Plymouth Argyle on Saturday in a game both teams need to win in order to give themselves the best chance of staying up.

Speaking ahead of the match, defender Rose says there can't be any excuses:

"We've got ourselves in this situation so we've got to stand up and get ourselves out of it. We can't look to anyone else apart from ourselves as players. Especially this game this weekend. We owe it to everyone to go in and put on a performance and get the three points that we need."

This weekend's fixture has more than just relegation at stake, as it will be the first time that head coach Steven Schumacher will face his former club since his switch from the South West at the end of 2023.

Another factor that could swing things in Stoke's favour is the Bet365 Stadium crowd. Rose added that the team needs to take advantage of the passionate home support:

"I think it was the Middlesbrough game when the crowd were like that. When it's like that it's a really good place to play football so we need that again at the weekend."

Stoke City are reportedly preparing a move to sign Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez in the summer transfer window.

The Clarets forward will be out of contract at the end of the season, and having not been offered a new deal, he is set to leave and become a free agent.

The Potters are expected to lose Tyrese Campbell and Wesley when their terms expire in June, with the club highlighting the 34-year-old as a possible replacement.

(TEAMtalk, external)

Image source, Getty Images

Stoke City playmaker Bae Junho has been replaced in the South Korea squad for the U23's Asian Cup which starts this week.

The Potters midfielder had initially been chosen to compete in Qatar, but the club have decided to keep hold of him so that he'll be available to take part in the last three games of the season.

Hwang Sun-Hong's side could qualify for the Paris Olympics should they be successful in this tournament, but they will have to try and do so without Junho.

Image source, Getty Images

Potters midfielder Luke Cundle scored his first goal for the club over the weekend in the 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Expressing his delight to get off the mark, the 21-year-old told the club website:

"I got played through. I was looking for the square ball. I think it was Million at the back post, but the goal was there, it fell nicely to my foot and I thought I'd put it in. It was a great feeling.

"I'm not going to lie, it's been tough for me so far, but I'm glad I could get that in. It was an important goal for us and hopefully it's a big point come the end of the season."

When asked how much the fans helped to get the result over the line, Cundle added:

"Magnificent support. They stayed with us, especially when we were one nil down. They could have easily turned against us, but it helps the lads a lot when you've got the voice on the pitch to keep pushing us to the final whistle."

Image source, Getty Images

Stoke City earned a 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, coming behind from a goal down to take a point at Hillsborough.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke's Sohail Sahi during his post-match interview, Steven Schumacher praised the belief of his side to find the equaliser:

"In the first half, we had to come under intense pressure, but thankfully we stood up to it. We spoke about what we could do better at half time, get a bit more pressure on the ball higher up the pitch which we did.

"Second half, we were better. Probably unfortunate to go behind when we did. I thought the game was quite even then, but we showed a brilliant response. Changed our shape, went for a bit more attacking.

"We expected Sheffield Wednesday to tire. Spaces opened up and the creative players caused them a problem.

"In the end, a really good goal from Cundle, but we maybe could have nicked it because he blocked one from going in off Junho.

"It's still a good result. It would have been brilliant if we'd have got a win, but also, we could have lost the game at the very end.

"Josh Laurent makes a goal-line clearance which was as good as a goal, so we take it on the chin and move on."

You can listen to the full interview here.

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of Stoke City's upcoming away game vs Sheffield Wednesday, Steven Schumacher has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference.

The Potters head coach has previewed this weekend's opponents, whether his side can beat the drop and how important it's going to be to put on a performance for the 4,000 fans who are making the trip to South Yorkshire.

The Owls: "Going to Hillsborough is always hard, no matter what situation they are in. They had a good result in midweek. We expect them to play with confidence and momentum, so we need to make sure we are ready for it. We can't start the game slow, we need to get on the front foot and try and make it a difficult day for them."

Relegation battle: "It's probably going to go to the wire. We need to just focus on ourselves. Try and get the results and points where we can and if we do have a bad result, quickly move on. Understand what we did wrong in that game and then do something about it."

Support of fans: "It's massive. The fans who travelled on Wednesday night were brilliant. We felt that our performance wasn't good enough and we almost let them down, so we need to put that right. Can't perform like that again because with 4,000 fans going there, we need to make sure that they can see we are up for the fight."

With Stoke City preparing to face Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, we asked you to send in your score predictions and thoughts as to how you think the game could pan out.

Here are some of the responses we received:

KL: Stoke will want to remedy a poor Wednesday performance. When they play aggressively from the first whistle they can match most teams, but too often they play a negative game, holding up and playing square or more likely backwards. Defending is frequently mired by poor vision and individual errors. Stoke win 1-2.

SD: We have a mix of young players with potential, alongside trouble making journeymen. If we repeat the shameful performance vs Swansea (bearing in mind Sheff Wed battled back from two down for a point vs Norwich), we’ll get beaten by 3/4. Shameful to be honest, sums up our 2023/24 season perfectly.

Adrian: All decided in the next two games. Win both we are totally safe, draw both we are most likely safe. Lose one and only draw the other, or lose both, and we will be twitching at the Bet365 against Bristol City. Frankly the nails can't stand any more biting!

Rob: We seem to play worse against teams around us. I'm going for 2-1 to Wednesday. We'll then draw against Plymouth, beat Southampton and draw with Bristol City on the last day and stay up on goal difference.

Pete: It's in the bag. 3-1.

Jacob: 4-3 Stoke.

• Stoke City have failed to win any of their last five Championship away games against Sheffield Wednesday (D4 L1) since a 2-0 victory in November 2005.

• The Owls are aiming to complete a league double over the Potters for the first time since the 1952/53 season after recording a 1-0 away win in December.

• Steven Schumacher's side have won two of their last three second tier away matches in Yorkshire (L1), as many as they had in their previous 14 games in Yorkshire combined (W2 D7 L5).

• The Hillsborough Stadium outfit have lost just one of their last seven home league fixtures (W3 D3), losing 2-0 in a Yorkshire derby against Leeds United.

• Will Vaulks came off the bench to assist two goals for Sheffield Wednesday in their 2-2 draw with Norwich City in midweek – he only had two assists in his previous 51 Championship games combined.