After his wonderful solo effort which beat Man City, Stoke will no doubt hope that striker Mame Biram Diouf will be fit and ready to start against the newly promoted side. Oussama Assaidi and Stephen Ireland are likely to be involved, however, Peter Odwemwingie is likely to be sidelined with a long term knee injury.
New signings Esteban Cambiasso, Danny Simpson, Tom Lawrence and Nick Powell could be in line to make an appearance for the foxes on Saturday after Nigel Pearson is looking to get his first win of the season.
Both sides have started their seasons respectively ok and as a result both sides will most likely be looking to get some much needed points. Stoke will hope to get back-to-back wins after a very impressive 1-0 victory at the Etihad which has galvanised their season after only getting 1 point from a 10 man Hull City. Leicester on the other hand were given a baptism of hell and remain unbeaten at home in the league after picking up impressive draws against Everton and Arsenal they were beaten by a very strong Chelsea. The game will certainly be dictated by how Stoke set up as they certainly have enough pace to cause many team problems with players like Assaidi and Moses in their side. Bojan in his appearances has looked impressive enough to warrant a start and could if he plays cause Leicester some problems. Diouf will hopefully start as his goal against Man City shows the pace and strength he has that could make him a real handful for Premier League defences.
Nigel Pearson’s premier league learning curve has been far from easy. However, the foxes have adapted fairly well and will prove difficult opponents for the fans at the Britannia. Impressive performances from players like Riyad Mahrez and Leonardo Ulloa have given the newly promoted side a platform in which to build on for the Marathon of a season. Ulloa’s lack of pace is made up by his strength and positioning and when you see his quality of finishing with his two goals so far have shown he could cause the Stoke defence problems on Saturday.
- Stoke are unbeaten in their last five home matches against Leicester in all competitions, winning four of them.
- These teams met in the FA Cup third round last season at the Britannia Stadium, with Stoke claiming a 2-1 victory.
- The last time these teams met in the top flight was in March 1977, with Leicester winning 1-0 at the Victoria Ground
