In between that chance, Leicester striker Jamie Vardy and Stoke defender Philipp Wollscheid had tangled inside the box but referee Mike Dean saw nothing wrong.

Stoke striker Jon Walters is deep in his own half having to help his own defenders out. The Republic of Ireland man is getting roughed up by the Leicester frontmen who, as usual, are working like a pack of dogs, chomping away at the opposition's ankles.

Leicester striker Shinji Okazaki with a snapshot from the edge of the area which Jack Butland waves over the bar.

No towels, no problem. Leicester full-back Christian Fuchs continues to chuck the balls into the box Rory Delap-esque.

They're coming in at a rate of knots and the burly figure of Philipp Wollscheid is having to work hard to clear it away.

Marc Wilson comes on for the stricken Ryan Shawcross.

Ryan Shawcross puts the ball out of play, the Stoke man cannot continue.

Brilliant defending from Leicester right-back Danny Simpson.

Xherdan Shaqiri clips in a lovely cross from the right which is hovering over the head of the incoming Mame Biram Diouf, but the Leicester defender rises to nod the ball away from the Stoke striker. That could have been an easy header for the visiting player, but for Simpson's intervention.

Ryan Shawcross is made of steely stuff and the Stoke skipper is able to continue for now.

Leicester midfielder N'Golo Kante, installed with a battery that never seems to run out, tries a speculative effort from around 30-yards out which sails over the crossbar.

Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross has a bit of a problem here, he's down receiving treatment and needs the stretcher on.

It gives Mark Hughes the chance to gather the troops and give out some instructions.

Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez is brought down against by Erik Pieters, that may be a running battle throughout this game.

The home side earn a corner, which Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland decisively punches clear. Excellent goalkeeping from the England international, positive and affective.

Stoke with more of the ball after 20 minutes...

Image source, Opta

First real chance of the game.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, on a run of six straight league games without a goal, smashes a left footed effort from the centre of the area but it's straight at Jack Butland.

From the corner, Riyad Mahrez tries a spectacular overhead kick which goes narrowly wide.

Game has finally come to life.

The first time we've seen winger Riyad Mahrez get on the ball, but the Leicester man is brought down unfairly in the Stoke half by Erik Pieters. No harm done from the resulting set piece though.

Pieters then plays a beautiful ball forward for Jon Walters to run on to, but the Republic of Ireland man can't get his feet sorted and Kasper Schmeichel collects.

Now then, a young lad has been sent round the pitch to collect all the towels from the ballboys.

Apparently, the two teams hadn't agreed to the use of them and Stoke were not happy for Leicester to take advantage by drying their hands and the ball.

You can see how far Stoke have come from the Rory Delap days...

Crowd 1-0 action on the pitch

Not the greatest 13 minutes of Premier League action we'll see this season.

There we are, on cue Xherdan Shaqiri is in the action. However, with the Leicester defensive line pushed up high, the Switzerland international's bouncing ball forward has too much on it and Jon Walters can't reach it. 

Kasper Schmeichel can collect without any problems. Will Stoke miss the intelligence of Bojan Krkic today? They do have the option of bringing him off the bench later on.

Not much quality from either side so far, giving the ball away all too often. Stoke playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri hasn't had a chance to get his foot on the ball so far and show what magic he can produce.

Leicester City

Former Premier League manager Neil Warnock on BBC Radio 5 live: "I think Leicester can maintain their form. They have under-rated players and great team spirit. Nobody will want to play them."

Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is a dead-ringer for his father. The Dane is as good in the air as is old man was too, leaping to collect a cross from the right which was a little awkward to deal with.

No chances so far.

The home side, buoyed on by their boisterous support are on the front foot early on with Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki causing problems with his darting runs early on.

Got to say, the atmosphere inside the stadium is absolutely brilliant. The Leicester fans are making a heck of a racket.