If you had asked Paul Lambert which team he would like to face in his first game as Stoke City manager, Huddersfield Town would have been pretty high up on his list of most-wanted opponents. The Terriers have lost seven of their eleven away games in the Premier League this season and appear to be in free-fall if recent results are anything to go by. Can the Potters take advantage of their opponents woes at the bet365 Stadium?
Match Details
Stoke v Huddersfield - Saturday 20th January, 3.00pm (bet365 Stadium)
Form
Lambert watched Stoke lose 3-0 at Manchester United on Monday but there were some positives for the new manager to take from the Potters' performance in defeat, particularly in attack. They played some nice football at Old Trafford but the lack of a clinical touch cost them dearly, with Stephen Ireland missing a couple of guilt-edged chances and Xherdan Shaqiri denied by the brilliance of David De Gea. Stoke have now failed to score in five of their last eight outings, winning only once in that time (drawn one, lost six), and they need to be much more clinical in front of goal.
At the other end of the pitch, schoolboy defending has continued to cost Stoke dearly as they have now conceded 50 goals in the Premier League, which is the most of any team in Europe's top-five divisions.
Despite their woes, Stoke are arguably playing Huddersfield at a good time as David Wagner's men have gone five league games without success following their 4-1 shellacking at the hands of West Ham United last weekend and they have been abysmal on the road.
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Head-To-Head
These two teams drew 1-1 when they met at the John Smith's Stadium on Boxing Day and it was their first head-to-head meeting since 2001, with Ramadan Sobhi's second-half equaliser for Stoke cancelling out Tom Ince's early opener. The result from their most recent clash means Stoke haven't beaten Huddersfield in six meetings since their 3-2 victory on 22nd September 1996.
- 26th December 2017 - Premier League - Huddersfield 1-1 Stoke
- 29th December 2001 - Old Division 2 - Huddersfield 0-0 Stoke
- 8th September 2001 - Old Division 2 - Stoke 1-1 Huddersfield
- 7th March 1998 - Old Division 1 - Stoke 1-2 Huddersfield
- 1st November 1997 - Old Division 1 - Huddersfield 3-1 Stoke
Team News
Paul Lambert could be boosted by the return of Ryan Shawcross, Geoff Cameron, Erik Pieters and Glen Johnson this weekend, although a late call will be made on all four. The game could come too soon for new loan signing Kostas Stafylidis, while Jese is still out.
Huddersfield could give a first start to Alex Pritchard, who made his debut off the substitutes' bench against West Ham, and loanee Florent Hadergjonaj is also likely to feature. Chris Lowe could return after recovering from injury but Martin Cranie and Collin Quaner are doubtful, while Elias Kachunga and Jon Gorenc Stankovic are definitely out.
Predicted Line-Ups:
Stoke: Butland; Bauer, Zouma, Martins-Indi, Pieters; Fletcher, Allen; Ireland, Shaqiri, Diouf; Crouch.
Huddersfield: Lossl; Hadergjonaj, Schindler, Zanka, Malone; Mooy, Hogg; Ince, Pritchard, Parra; Depoitre.
Predictions
Stoke will be relying on the wily old Peter Crouch for goals and it will be interesting to see if the former England international has had his heard turned by the bizarre rumours linking him with a move to Chelsea! Behind Crouch, Stoke have some lovely footballers and they have enough about them to create chances against a dispirited Huddersfield side.
The 'new manager bounce' effect could prove crucial here and we fully expect Paul Lambert to have been working on the Potters' defensive deficiencies during his first week of training.
Predicted Score: Stoke 2-1 Huddersfield.
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