Stoke City vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance27,385.
Saturday 10 September 2016 13:51, UK
Wilfried Bony is poised to make his competitive Stoke debut when Mark Hughes' side welcome Tottenham on Saturday.
The striker played in a behind-closed-door friendly after his Deadline Day arrival, but he is in line for his full bow this weekend.
Mark Hughes will be looking for his side to get their first win of the season having picked up just one point so far.
"They will be a test for us, they're a good side with good energy and lots of pace and power so we will have to be able to match that," he manager told the club's website.
Tottenham have made an unbeaten start to the Premier League season with two draws and a win.
The bet365 Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham in recent times, beating Stoke 4-0 in the same fixture last season. They have won more games at the ground (five) than any other Premier League side.
Defender Bruno Martins Indi - signed on loan on Deadline Day - could make his first Potters appearance, while goalkeeper Lee Grant is expected to replace Jakob Haugaard (ankle) on the bench as back-up to Shay Given.
The veteran Irishman is set for an extended run in the side as Jack Butland is out for another six to 10 weeks following ankle surgery, and Xherdan Shaqiri (calf) remains sidelined.
Mame Diouf (hamstring) is a doubt but full-back Glen Johnson could return to the squad having recovered from a thigh problem.
Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris will return to the side for Saturday's trip having missed out since suffering a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season and is set to replace Michel Vorm.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has yet to decide whether new signings Moussa Sissoko and Georges-Kevin N'Koudou will start but Mousa Dembele serves the last game of his suspension and Danny Rose (hamstring) is out.
Stoke suffered their joint-biggest Premier League home defeat in this fixture last season (0-4, also against Chelsea in January 2013).
There have been eight red cards in 16 Premier League meetings between these sides, with seven of those coming at the Bet365 Stadium (three for Stoke, four for Spurs).
Dele Alli scored twice against Stoke City back in April; his only Premier League brace to date.
This is only the third time since debuting in the Premier League that Stoke have been bottom of the table, with the previous instances coming in August 2008 and September 2015.
Mauricio Pochettino's only win in the Premier League against Stoke was the 4-0 win in April (D4 L2).
Shay Given could make his 450th Premier League appearance in this match, becoming just the fourth goalkeeper to make this milestone after David James (572), Mark Schwarzer (514) and Brad Friedel (450).
The next goal that Shay Given concedes will be the 600th he's shipped in the Premier League - only Jussi Jääskeläinen (613), Mark Schwarzer (653) and David James (665) have conceded more in the competition.
Harry Kane has now gone five Premier League games without scoring, his longest wait for a goal since September 2015 (six games).
Kane has scored just one goal during the months of August and September in his Premier League career; this despite playing 16 times overall in these two months.
Erik Lamela has covered more ground than any other Spurs player so far this season, averaging 12km per game.
Wilfried Bony has scored in both of his previous two Premier League starts against Tottenham Hotspur.
I don't typically go against Stoke at home because they are a difficult team to beat, but they need to get their campaign up and running.
Tottenham had a fantastic result there last season after they scored early in the game, but the addition of Wilfried Bony brings something different to the table for Stoke.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Most popular Super 6 prediction: 1-2)
