As it happened Stoke City 4-0 Barnsley: Dominant performance sees Potters boost survival chances

Thank you for joining me for today's game.

I've been Dave Crowther-Green and be sure to keep updated with the post-match reaction on VAVEL.com.

That's full-time and it's exactly the sort of performance Michael O'Neill will have been hoping for from his side this afternoon.

Goals: Vokes (8'), Campbell (10' & 38') and Ince (87')

90' Four minutes added on

89' Double change for Stoke

Diouf and Thompson on for McClean and Clucas

87' 4-0 Stoke!

Ince cuts onto his left and curls his shot into the top corner

86' Late Stoke sub sees Sorensen replace Powell

85' Powell shoots from the edge of the area but sees his shot saved by Walton

82' Mowatt shoots from range from a free-kick and forces a good save out of Butland

77' Styles drills a corner into the area but it's cleared by Smith

70' A double change for Stoke sees Ince and Gregory replace Campbell and Vokes.

Schmidt is on for Woodrow for Barnsley, also.

67' Ball squared across the box towards Vokes but it's just behind the Stoke forward and cleared.

60' Woodrow tries to curl an effort from a free-kick but sends his shot way over the bar

54' Not much to report from the opening stages of this second half.

Barnsley looking to attack in places but the hosts are comfortable in possession here.

54' Not much to report from the opening stages of this second half.

Barnsley looking to attack in places but the hosts are comfortable in possession here.

46' The visitors make three changes at half-time with Simoes, Jordan Williams and Styles on for Brown, Ben Williams and Ritzmaier.

45' The teams are back out and we're back underway for the second half at the bet365 Stadium. 

A dominant first-half performance sees the Potters 3-0 up at the break.

Goals: Vokes (8') and Campbell (10' & 38')

45' Four minutes added on

41' What a first-half performance this has been from the Potters.

Without a win since football's return, three goals before half-time have put Michael O'Neill's in control here. 

Campbell gets his second!

A great corner routine sees Clucas' pull-back put into the far corner by the Stoke forward.

31' Appeals for a Stoke penalty but Powell is booked for diving on the edge of the area. 

30' A scramble in the area sees the ball fall to Batth but Brown gets in the way the defender's shot.

23' The visitors starting to see more of the ball but yet to register a shot on goal.

Two goals in 11 minutes sees Stoke make the perfect start to the game here.

15' What a start!

Two chances, two goals!

🔴⚪️ 2-0 🐶#SCFC pic.twitter.com/wxTw6oPBLx

— S t o k e C i t y F C (@stokecity) July 4, 2020

11' 2-0 Stoke!

A lovely goal by Tyrese Campbell, McClean latches onto a long ball forward and finds the forward who flicks the ball past Walton

8' Stoke in front! Vokes rises highest and heads in from Clucas' corner

We're underway at the bet365 Stadium! A huge game for both sides. (0-0)

The bet365 Stadium is ready to go for today's game. Kick-off just over 15 minutes away.

📸 Our home!

Come on, Stoke! 💪#SCFC 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/aOaaXXwRno

— S t o k e C i t y F C (@stokecity) July 4, 2020

Around half an hour to go until kick-off at the bet365 Stadium. 

While we wait, why not take a read of VAVEL.com's match preview ahead of today's game? 

https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2020/07/03/championship/1026814-stoke-city-vs-barnsley-preview-tykes-look-to-continue-unbeaten-run-against-struggling-potters.html

Five changes for Stoke this afternoon as Tommy Smith, James Chester, Bruno Martins Indi, Nick Powell and Tyrese Campbell come into the starting eleven.

And it's three changes for the visitors, with Conor Chaplin, Killian Ludewig and Luke Thomas all starting today.

Here's how both sides will line-up this afternoon:

Stoke

📋 Here is you Stoke City squad for this afternoon's game against @BarnsleyFC.

5⃣ changes to the starting XI at the bet365 Stadium.#SCFC 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/kJyfJdeJCi

— S t o k e C i t y F C (@stokecity) July 4, 2020

Barnsley

👇 We line up like this against Stoke City 👇 pic.twitter.com/qglnsTFzpk

— Barnsley FC (@BarnsleyFC) July 4, 2020

“The last three games gave everyone the right conviction and everyone knows it’s the right time to climb out of the relegation zone.

“The players understand what we need on the field and they work so outstanding at the moment and we need to focus on the next game.

“From the one side we have very good games behind us with a very good feeling; we have three clean sheets and we have seven points in three games. From the other side we have a big goal and it’s a big power source for everyone.”

“One of the things we can’t do is feel sorry for ourselves because that is not going to get us anywhere. It’s better to clear the air.

“I think the nature of Championship means that, regardless of the current situation we are in, you have to put bad results behind you quite quickly and move on.

“We’ve done that in terms of our preparation but we now have to go out and do it by winning the game tomorrow, and obviously we have to have a greatly improved performance from what we had on Tuesday night.”

The Stoke vs Barnsley match is available to watch worldwide via StokeCity+Live or iFollow Barnsley. Highlights of the game will also be available in the UK on Quest from 9pm BST.

It was a six-goal thriller at Oakwell last time the two sides met as Stoke ended up 4-2 winners in O'Neill's first game in charge.

A brace from Sam Clucas and goals from Lee Gregory and Joe Allen helped the Potters to victory in South Yorkshire with Cameron McGeehan and Patrick Schmidt scoring for the home side.

The visitors look set to be without Romal Palmer for the trip to Staffordshire after the midfielder was forced off due to injury in the win over Blackburn on Tuesday.

Potters boss Michael O'Neill revealed in his pre-match press conference that they are monitoring the condition of club captain Ryan Shawcross ahead of today's game.

Shawcross has featured twice since the restart but was unable to complete 90 minutes and substituted on both occasions.

Speaking to Stoke-on-TrentLive about the defender's condition O'Neill said:

“We have to be mindful of where Ryan is. It is essentially 11 months since he did his injury. That is a long time for a player to be out and he has had very little football in that time.

“He is desperate to contribute, which is great, as we knew he would be. He has real leadership qualities and he is desperate to help the team. But we have to protect him a little as well and do what is right for the team."

The opposite could be said about the visitors, however, with Gerhard Struber's side picking up a vital 2-0 win against Blackburn in midweek as well as an impressive goalless draw against Millwall last weekend.

The Tykes will be looking to continue their impressive form since the restart later today.

Stoke boss Michael O'Neill questioned his players' mentality after Tuesday's disappointing 3-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic and will be looking for instant improvement this afternoon.

The Potters are without a win since football's return and have fixtures against Leeds United, Brentford and Nottingham Forest to come before the end of the season.

Both teams will see today's match as a must-win game sitting 22nd and 23rd in the EFL Championship table respectively.

Just six points separate bottom club Luton Town and Charlton Athletic in 18th, so three points could be vital for either side's survival chances.

The Stoke City vs Barnsley match will be played at the bet365 Stadium, in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The kick-off is scheduled at 15:00 BST.

Welcome to VAVEL.com’s LIVE coverage of the 2019/20 EFL Championship match between Stoke City and Barnsley. 
My name is Dave Crowther-Green and I’ll be your host for this game.

We will provide you with pre-game analysis, team updates, and news as it happens live here on VAVEL.