Saturday 21 March 2015 14:51, UK
Stoke will look to get back to winning ways when they meet Crystal Palace at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Mark Hughes’ team run of three consecutive wins was brought to an end last weekend as former Potters boss Tony Pulis guided West Brom to a 1-0 victory.
However, despite that defeat, Stoke are sat comfortably in eighth and look on course for a second top-half finish in as many seasons.
Crystal Palace have won two of their last three and know another victory would realistically put an end to any lingering relegation worries.
Alan Pardew has succeeded in replicating the turnaround Palace managed under Pulis last season and finishing above his former club Newcastle is definitely a possibility with just two points separating the sides.
Team news
Crystal Palace will hand late fitness checks to wingers Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha.
Puncheon (dead leg) and Zaha (hip) both suffered knocks during last weekend's 3-1 win over QPR.
Skipper Mile Jedinak is still suspended and striker Marouane Chamakh remains sidelined by a hamstring injury.
Stoke will be without Jon Walters after he fractured a cheekbone last week’s defeat to West Brom.
Erik Pieters (thigh), Phillip Wollscheid and Victor Moses (both groin) are injury doubts, with Bojan, Peter Odemwingie and Marc Muniesta all long-term absentees.
Opta facts
Stoke City have won five of their last eight Barclays Premier League games at the Britannia Stadium (W5 D1 L2), with their only defeats coming against Chelsea and Manchester City.
Defeat last time out on the road against Southampton ended a run of five without loss for Palace away from home in the Premier League (D2 W3).
The Potters are one of only two teams (along with Burnley) without a red card this season.
Palace have kept just one clean sheet in nine Premier League matches under Alan Pardew.
Only Spurs (16) have recovered more points from losing positions than Crystal Palace (15) so far this season.
Only West Ham (15) have scored more headed goals than Stoke City this season and six of the last eight goals the Potters have netted have come via this route.
Merson's prediction
I like Stoke and I very rarely go against them when they are at home, while I have also been impressed with Palace since Alan Pardew took over. They have great pace both on the wings and up front, while they are a decent team away from home, and apart from the result at Southampton last time out, I think they have won four or five on the road this season.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1
Betting
Stoke are Sky Bet’s 6/5 favourites for the victory, with Crystal Palace 12/5 outsiders while the draw priced at 11/5. A repeat of the 1-1 draw which the two sides played out at Selhurst Park is considered the most likely outcome in the correct score market at 9/2, while another 3-1 Palace win is a hefty 33/1. In the first goalscorer betting, Mame Biram Diouf and Peter Crouch are considered the favourites to break the deadlock at 5/1 apiece, while James McArthur is 20/1 to net first again against the Potters.
