Stoke City v Leicester City - team news & preview
A superb goal from Darren Fletcher gave Stoke a much-needed win against Watford last Saturday.TEAM NEWS
Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross has been nursing a thigh injury and is a doubt to face Leicester.
Geoff Cameron again misses out because of concussion but Bruno Martins Indi, Peter Crouch and Glen Johnson are all available again.
Leicester defender Ben Chilwell has a minor knee problem and will be assessed ahead of the match.
Robert Huth and Matty James remain on the sidelines because of respective knee and Achilles injuries.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Steve Wilson: "Leicester head to Stoke on a nice little run of form, having won three consecutive games for the first time since Craig Shakespeare won his first six as Foxes manager. That's Craig Shakespeare - remember him?
"I'm pretty sure that Leicester will be challenging for European places come the end of the season, and I'm pretty sure that would have been the case had they stuck with Shakespeare too.
"Stoke's win at Watford has bought Mark Hughes some credit after a tricky run.
"Four and half years in charge of one Premier League club is something of an achievement in these days of almost constant flux. For my money, Hughes is one of the best British managers around - and I reckon chairman Peter Coates knows that too."
Twitter: @Wilsonfooty
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Stoke manager Mark Hughes: "We know how important it is to get two wins on the bounce in the Premier League and that is certainly our intention this weekend.
"A couple of wins can propel you up the table, and of course when you win an away game then obviously you want to follow that up with a good performance and a good result at home."
Leicester manager Claude Puel: "Gradually we have to improve together. It's an evolution because we cannot change everything in a few days.
"We have to work on the training pitch and the details are very important and can make the difference."
LAWRO'S PREDICTION
A draw would disappoint Stoke more than Leicester, but for Claude Puel it would be two unbeaten from two and for Stoke it would be something to build on.
Prediction: 1-1
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Think you can do better than Lawro? Predict the score for this match and the rest of this round's Premier League fixtures in our Predictor game.MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Stoke have only won one of their six previous Premier League matches against Leicester. The Foxes are unbeaten in their three Premier League visits to the bet365 Stadium. They have come from two goals down to draw 2-2 in each of their last two away games in this fixture.
Stoke City
Stoke have conceded 20 goals after 10 league games, the second worst record in the division after Crystal Palace.The Potters haven't won successive Premier League matches since January. The first of their two wins then came against Watford, who they beat last weekend.They have only scored six goals in their five league games at home this season.Mame Biram Diouf has scored three goals in his last four league games - as many as he managed in his previous 52 appearances in the top flight.
Leicester City
Six points from their last two Premier League games is as many as they managed in their opening eight games of the season.Leicester have earned three straight victories in all competitions since Craig Shakespeare was sacked - they won just three of his last 13 matches in charge.Jamie Vardy has scored in three of his last four league appearances against Stoke, including at the bet365 Stadium last season before he was controversially sent off.SAM's verdictMost probable score: 1-1Probability of draw: 28%Probability of home win: 40%Probability of away win: 32%
SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Liverpool that is used to predict the outcome of football matches.
Source: bbc.com
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