Stoke City face Norwich City at the Britannia Stadium this Wednesday evening with the home side hoping to climb the table in search of a place in Europe.

After losing their last Premier League outing to West Brom the home side will be looking to get back to winning ways starting with Norwich City.

The Potters lie in tenth place but just seven points off a top four spot, the lure of the Champions League has never looked brighter and after almost slipping up against Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup, they will be looking to find their feet again. 

Stoke City in Europe?

Mark Hughes has created somewhat of a revolution at Stoke since taking over in 2013, with shock signings such as Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan Krkic and Ibrahim Afellay (all Champions League winners) his side now boast real fire-power to challenge for a place in Europe. The team once known for their long balls and physicality are now becoming the team that can knock it with the big boys and through their passing showcases and united team displays. 

Impressive results of late such as the 2-0 wins over both Manchester clubs have made the Premier League take notice, fans are now sensing that something special is brewing at the Britannia largely down to Hughes' implementaton on possession coupled with impressive star signings. With a hard run of games awaiting the Potters against Arsenal, Manchester United and Leicester City in the coming weeks, a win against Norwich will hopefully give the side valuable confidence heading into the tough run.

Norwich relegation battlers?

The Canaries can boast the unwanted statistic of being relegated from the Premier League three times since it was founded in 1972. The 2015 Championship Play Off winners currently sit in 15th place and have hovered just above the relegation zone for much of the season but are in danger of falling into a relegation scrap as the side remain just six points from relegation territory.

Manager Alex Neil has already added to his ranks in the January transfer window signing Portugese Under-21 right back Ivo Pinto from Dyanmo Zagreb for around £2.1 million. The signing will act as a signal of intent to the fans that they will not slip up this season, Pinto follows other big name players such as Graham Dorrans, Matt Jarvis and Robbie Brady to sign for the club this season as Neil aims to build a squad that can battle in the league. 

Form guides

Looking at both sides in the league standings, Stoke City possess the upper hand while surprisingly it is the away side that carries the league form advantage heading into the fixture, two wins against Aston Villa and Southampton give the Yellows a big advantage heading into the game. Norwich will, however be hoping to quickly forget their FA cup nightmare which saw them crash out in horrifc style losing 3-0 at home to Manchester City. 

Stoke City have by all acounts won bigger results against stronger opposition but the North West side were left shaken by League One side Doncaster Rovers on Saturday as they luckily escaped the Keepmoat Stadium with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters. The last Premier League fixture Mark Hughes' side played was away to West Brom which saw the Potters lose in dramatic fashion to an injury time a Jonny Evans header.

Norwich also boast a superior goal threat as the Alex Neil's men have scored 23 goals across 20 games this season while Stoke have managed two less, if the Canaries were relying on their attacking threat they may want to consider their defensive standings as the newly promoted side possess the fifth worst defensive record of all Premier League sides as 32 goals have been scored past them this season.  

Boss sides have no single player in form but Norwich will be placing a lot of pressure onto the shoulders of Alexander Tettey who is in somewhat of a hot-streak scoring two goals in his last four outings. Stoke, thanks to their strength in depth, could play a variety of players with a several different formations, striker Bojan Krikic or Jonathon Walters could both feature for the Potters with two good options it gives manager Hughes' a great selection headache. 

Team news

For Stoke City, they are still without Spaniard Marco Muniesa as the defender is still nursing a hamstring injury but he is returning to full fitness and is expected back in one week. Geoff Cameron is unlikely to feature as the American has picked up an ankle injury and boss Mark Hughes does not want to risk aggravating the injury. Midifelder Stephen Ireland (Hamstring) and goalkeeper Shay Given (knee) are also unavailable. 

Norwich are expected to be without Matt Jarvis for the clash but the Englishman has an outside chance of being available for the fixture. Alex Neil is expected to feature a completely changed side to the one that were beaten by Manchester City as he has told the media recently that his main aim is Premier League survival. 

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About the author
Joel Lampkin
Sports Journalist from Chester University, Professional wrestling writer. Contact [email protected]