Stoke fought back to secure a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium last weekend. Now on home turf for the first time this season, the Potters will be confident of a positive result having lost only one of the last five league meetings with City in Stoke.
Manchester City followed up their hard-fought 2-1 win over Sunderland with the 5-0 trouncing of Steaua Bucharest. While the Citizens struggled on the road for large parts last term, under Pep Guardiola they have what it takes to land all three points at the weekend.
Stoke
Indeed, City could edge victory against Stoke in Saturday’s lunchtime kick off.
Stephen Ireland and Ibrahim Afellay are long-term absentees for the Potters and miss out.
Jack Butland and Glen Johnson are both doubts for the home side and will be assessed closer to Saturday.
The Potters, though, could be unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough, with Joe Allen starting on the bench
Manchester City
Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan are both sidelined through injury, while Samir Nasri is not expected to play again for Manchester City.
Yaya Toure has also missed out on a starting spot in City’s two competitive fixtures this term, while Leroy Sane won’t be ready for another two weeks.
Bacary Sagna has a slight problem but it doens’t concern Guardiola. He could name the same starting XI that defeated Sunderland, which would see Joe Hart miss out once more.
As at this post Stoke has 4.86 odd to win the match on NaijaBet while Manchester City has 1.65 odd to win the match also, while the odd to draw the match is 3.89