Stoke City

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Ahead of Stoke City's meeting with Sunderland, BBC Radio Stoke's Lucas Yeomans has been speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle's Black Cats reporter Nick Barnes, external to discuss which opposition players could cause the biggest problem for Steven Schumacher's side.

"Jack Clarke is the obvious one because he's had a good season. You know, he's by far and away their leading scorer. He is a tricky player, he's a difficult player to play against, there's an argument that he's a bit of a one-trick pony, you know what he's going to do on that left wing. There's not a huge amount beyond that. End product perhaps should be greater, but that's being hypocritical of a very talented player.

"They have others. Dan Ballard, a centre-back that's been superb this season, a bit of an unsung hero in many ways. I think Dan Neil in central midfield as well. He's only 22, but he is undoubtedly destined for bigger things. Trai Hume has had a fantastic season. Playing right-back now but he's been playing left-back, so there are some very talented individuals. Anthony Patterson, the goalkeeper, some very talented individuals within the team."

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Stoke City have no fresh injury concerns to report ahead of Saturday's trip to face Sunderland in the Championship at the Stadium of Light.

Potters midfielder Josh Laurent has been out on the sidelines with an ankle problem for the past five league games, and head coach Steven Schumacher confirmed at his pre-match press conference that he is still not likely to be involved for another two weeks.

With Cameroon having progressed to the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations, Junior Tchamadeu also remains unavailable for selection until he returns from international duty.

With Stoke City preparing to take on Sunderland, we asked you to send in your score predictions and thoughts as to how the game could pan out.

Here are some of the responses that we received:

Simon: Massive moment for us. Would go with a front three of Ty (Campbell), Mmaee, Leris with Junho in behind, and Burger and Baker as 8’s. Back four Gooch, Wilmot, Rose, Thompson and Iversen in the net. Some team that and one that I would trust to bring home three points!

Ben: I think that Stoke City will score. 3 nil against Sunderland. Stoke City will win very easily.

Robin: Tough game but one that we can win. 3 - 0.

David: Sunderland 1:3 Stoke.

• When Stoke and Sunderland faced each other in the reverse fixture of this game back in October 2023, the hosts secured a 2-1 win at the Bet365.

• The Potters are now unbeaten in their last four away games and will be looking to extend that run to five by taking all three points on Saturday.

• The Black Cats have only won two of their opening seven matches across all competitions under new manager Michael Beale.

• However, Jack Clarke is still a key player to watch for the visitors having scored against his former club when the two teams last met.

• Steven Schumacher's side are 19th in the Championship table as it stands, while their upcoming opponents are 10th, one victory outside the top six.

Image source, Stoke City

Stoke City striker Nathan Lowe has put pen to paper on a fresh four-and-a-half year deal, keeping him at the Bet365 Stadium until at least 2028.

The Potters academy graduate has made seven appearances in the Championship this season, with his late goal in the 3-2 victory over Bristol City in September being a memorable moment for both himself and supporters.

Speaking to the club's official website about his delight, the 18-year-old said:

“It has been a great year but I am solely focused on writing the next chapter. It is nice to reflect, and the feeling of scoring the winner at Bristol City was indescribable.

"It is an emotion I am determined to experience again and again. I am so hungry for more opportunities and to impress every time I get onto the pitch. I firmly believe in the opportunity I have here and I am looking forward to seeing where the journey takes me next.”

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Ahead of Stoke City's upcoming away game vs Sunderland on Saturday, Steven Schumacher has been speaking to BBC Radio Stoke's Lucas Yeomans at his pre-match press conference to discuss a variety of different topics.

On the Black Cats: "Just because Sunderland have lost their last couple of games, obviously we lost our last game, I don't think two teams will take that into consideration. They will just try and figure out a way how to beat each other and hopefully we can get out on the front foot and take the game to them and come out on top of it."

Lynden Gooch: "He's bright and he's intelligent. He understands the game and he's got attributes that lends itself to different areas of the pitch, so yeah, he's been good for us. I'm pleased that he's back, he's a leader in the group which is what we need and it'll be good going back to his old club as well."

Support of the fans: "Fans who come and pay their money, they want to see a team that plays good football. That's what I would want to do if I was a paying fan. Obviously you are not going to win every single game, but I'm also aware that we need to win some, especially at home."

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With Enda Stevens out injured, Jordan Thompson has recently been providing cover at left-back for Steven Schumacher, despite that not being his natural position.

Having carried out his duties well which saw him get on the scoresheet during the 2-1 defeat to Birmingham, Stoke legend Mike Pejic has been speaking to BBC Radio Stoke about his impressive run of performances.

"He knows the role anyway. A sitting midfield role is not so different in terms of working your positional sense, working your angles and distances, knowing when to press, knowing when to sit in, knowing when to cover, it's a similar situation in a central role."

"It's not that much different to a full-back who is obviously in a wider role and it's more of a delay to stop crosses rather than players making through runs and through balls and whatever else, so he's got those attributes anyway."

Stoke City are set to make the trip to face Sunderland in the Championship on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off scheduled to take place at 3pm UK time.

The Potters will be hoping that they can secure all three points at the Stadium of Light considering they are unbeaten in their last four away games, but can they extend that to five?

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

Have your say here.

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Stoke City's U21s are on a fantastic streak having won their last five consecutive games, with four of those coming in the Premier League 2 and the other in the Staffordshire Senior Cup.

The Potters most recently secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over Manchester City, with Nathan Lowe bagging a hat-trick, and head coach Steven Schumacher has told BBC Radio Stoke how impressed he was by them in that particular fixture.

"They played really well. A couple of standout performances, but as a whole squad, I thought they passed the ball really well. They were aggressive and did well against Man City who obviously have got real quality players in there, so it was a good result in freezing conditions and good to get one or two of the senior lads out there as well."

"We know we've got good players in that group. The lads who have stepped in and trained with the first-team so far, Sol [Sidibe], Niko [Jojic], Lowey [Nathan] and Emre [Tezgel], and the lads who we've seen a lot of, we all think that they've got a chance. So when they put performances in like that and get results and obviously they are on a really good run as well."

"They've done really well so that's positive, and as I say, that keeps the feel-good factor around the whole club going. Young players are going to be the future of this club, so they have to keep improving, keep training every day the way they do. Young Sol trained with us this morning, he was brilliant, so that's what we are going to need. There's opportunities at this football club while we are here, and the young players need to step up and take them."

Stoke City are reportedly keen to reach an agreement to sign Standard Liege forward Romaine Mundle before the end of January.

The Belgian Pro League star is believed to be open to joining the Potters, though the move is yet to progress into the official stages of negotiations.

Elsewhere, Steven Schumacher is edging closer to bringing in a new left-back ahead of the transfer deadline. (Fraser Fletcher Gillan, external)

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This January, Stoke City have signed Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen and Wolves midfielder Luke Cundle on loan for the rest of the season. In also is development goalkeeper, Scott Morris, from Christchurch United, but there are still areas that need improving.

The Potters could be looking to add a left-back and a striker before the end of the month. Head coach Steven Schumacher has been speaking to ITV about the possibility of him getting more bodies through the door before the transfer deadline.

"We’ll have to see. It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks. We’ve got targets in mind and we’ve had conversations with certain people but it’s hard in January, it’s not an easy window to try to bring people into the club. We’ll see what we can do and if we can bring someone in that strengthens the squad, then great.”

“We’ve tried to change slightly how we’re going to play, we’re trying to get more bodies forward and create more chances and be a bit more exciting. I think there have been positive signs from that, I think players have shown ability, there’s a lot of quality in the squad, but we’re just missing that cutting edge.”

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Last summer, Stoke City secured the services of Lynden Gooch from Championship rivals Sunderland, and when not injured, he's been a regular feature since joining with 20 appearances to date.

Despite Steven Schumacher having only been at the helm for just over a month, the versatile playmaker has taken to the head coach like a duck to water and has opened up on how he's found his first season at the club.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, he said: "I've come here and I'm really enjoying it. I love playing here at Stoke and it was a great transition for me. I'm definitely settled in, I'm really enjoying it, being around everyone here at Clayton Wood and meeting everyone at the stadium. It's going great, just hopefully we can keep improving under the new manager [head coach] and fire up the table."

"I think the way he wants to play really suits me. Obviously high energy and really forward thinking. I've only played a couple of games under him because of my calf injury but I've really enjoyed it, the matches and training. I think you can start to see a real clear identity the way that we want to play and it's perfect for me really."

Stoke City fan and host of The Wizards Of Drivel Podcast, external, David Cowlishaw, has been speaking to BBC Radio Stoke's Lucas Yeomans to talk all things Steven Schumacher and what he's made to his start to life at the Bet365 Stadium.

"I've been really pleased. Obviously, with any new manager, there's the kind of the cliches of the new manager bounce and we've had a little bit of one. I don't think, certainly in my time supporting Stoke, I can remember a manager coming in and there being an instant night and day kind of thing where we'd suddenly transform into a different team overnight, but there has been a lot of progress made, definitely results wise."

"Someone looked at our last 14 games on Twitter today, I think it was the 'Not The Top 20 Podcast', and we've only got 13 points from our last 14 games which isn't very good, but six of those games were Alex Neil where we got two points and six of those games were Schumacher where we've got nine points, so we're definitely in a much better place in terms of picking up points."

"About half of these games I'd say have been quite dull, tepid affairs, and there's certainly a lot to do for us in terms of creating chances, scoring goals, that's still an issue for us, but we're playing some decent football, certainly more positive football than we were seeing, certainly in the last few games of Alex Neil. Some players seem to have really kicked on and we just seem more of a cohesive team than we did under Neil as well, so a cautious B+ to start for Schumacher."

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Luke Cundle says he wants to add more assists and goals for Stoke City in the second half of the season.

The 22-year-old made his home debut in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City and is keen to register his first goal in red and white stripes .

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, Cundle says he's settled in quickly after making the loan switch in early January:

"I'm enjoying it all and the lads are great, it's been easy for me to settle in. It's a good changing room and we need to keep working hard in training and hopefully that will show on the pitch."

Despite having followed head coach Steven Schumacher from Plymouth Argyle the midfielder isn't taking his place in the team for granted.

"There's some good players in my position all competing for a starting place and I think that is healthy as it gives the manager a bit of a headache so I think that's good, we just have to keep working.

"My aim is to add more goals and assists, impact the team in that way. I will keep trying to play well and hopefully they will come."

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One of the biggest challenges facing Stoke City right now is putting the ball in the back of the net. The Potters have scored only six times in the last six league games and are the fourth lowest scoring team in the Championship.

Former Stoke defender Mike Pejic says it is an area that needs addressing quickly but there are signs of improvement under new head coach Steven Schumacher:

"We sold a striker with Jacob Brown to Luton, a decision I questioned. He was a player who could make runs in behind and that's what we are lacking now."

After the 2-1 defeat at home to Birmingham City Pejic told BBC Radio Stoke that progress on the pitch was being made:

"It was really impressive at times in the attacking half - that one, two, three touch flowing movement, forward thinking play. What we have seen is a change in style and the way the players are thinking.

"You have to have players in wide positions who can stretch the opposition and get round the back of defences and we're seeing that."

He continued, "The manager [head coach] knows where he is going and the players know that too."

Stoke fans react to Schumacher's first league defeat

Stoke City's 2-1 home defeat to Birmingham was their first Championship defeat under head coach Steven Schumacher. Here's what fans had to say about it:

Daniel - I thought Stoke played well we just need to finish our chances. If we had Schumacher at the start of the season we would probably be in the top half. We need someone who can put the ball in the net.

Dean - The decision making and final ball - we seemed to get a lot of them wrong. We need a striker, a target man.

Marcus - We need a number nine, we need a goalscorer. It's really frustrating moving forward in the final third. If we can get a decent striker in this team then the way we play we will score more goals and we will win more games.

Darren - We need a six foot plus centre-back who is going to get on the end of a corner. We need a commanding centre-back, a leader. Our set pieces are awful, the corners go into the box but there isn't anyone on the end of them.

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Back in 2013, Marc Muniesa first joined Stoke City and he went on to become nothing short of a fan favourite, making 67 appearances before permanently leaving the club to join Girona.

Recently speaking to Stoke On Trent Live, external, the defender opened up on his Potters career and revealed whether there is a possibility that he could stage his comeback in the near future.

"I’d made my choice and I didn’t know what was going to happen – but it’s been one of the best decisions we made and we have great memories here. It’s been the best part of my football career to have the time that we had here."

"To play in the Premier League, the club, everybody was on the same side. It felt like we were a small team but getting bigger and the connection between the fans and the players was amazing for good years in the Premier League."

"Of course things change, everybody takes decisions. Then we had our first child, we were expecting another and we wanted to experience different things as well. But we were always happy here and we always say, ‘Oh it will be nice one day to go back to Stoke.’"

"Now we have been back as supporters and let’s see maybe in the future what can happen? Maybe as a coach or you never know, maybe as a player… you never know."

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Ahead of Stoke City's upcoming encounter against Birmingham, we take a look at the opposition in more detail, and it's fair to say that they have been in disappointing form this season in the Championship.

The Blues have suffered 12 defeats from 27 games since the start of the campaign, securing just seven wins and eight draws from the remainder of those matches.

The St. Andrew's outfit's heaviest loss without finding the net came in the form of the 3-0 fixture vs Leeds United, though they are certainly no pushovers having beaten the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Huddersfield Town.

Regarding key players to watch, top scorer Jay Stansfield is one to keep an eye on with eight goals to his name, which is more than any of Steven Schumacher's squad members, Andre Vidigal being the highest on six.

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Stoke City have been handed a boost after learning that Enda Stevens is fully fit for Saturday's visit of Birmingham City at the Bet365 Stadium.

Bae Junho and Lynden Gooch are also set to be available for selection once again having returned to full training with the rest of the squad, though Steven Schumacher will still be without two of his other first-team players.

Potters captain Josh Laurent remains on the sidelines with an ankle injury, while Junior Tchamadeu is the second absentee due to him representing his nation, Cameroon, at the African Cup of Nations. (Stoke On Trent Live, external)