Stoke City will host Peterborough United at the Bet365 Stadium in an EFL Championship fixture on Saturday. The hosts secured maximum points with a narrow 1-0 away victory over Luton Town before the international break. Jacob Brown scored the winning goal in the 34th minute. Peterborough fell to a defeat by the same scoreline against Fulham on home turf. Alexander Mitrovic’s strike 16 minutes from time helped the capital side secure all three points. The respective results left Stoke City and Peterborough United in fifth and 21st positions in the table respectively. The home side have garnered 28 points from 17 matches, while the Posh are just three points above the relegation zone.
The 23-year-old Scottish striker Jacob Brown has been impressive for Stoke in the Championship. Brown’s brilliant form this season for Stoke City has resulted in him being called up to the Scotland squad for the World Cup qualifiers. Last season, he scored five goals in 41 appearances, a tally which he has already equalled in just 17 appearances in the current season. In addition, he has provided a further four assists for his side. Brown’s attacking and creativity stats are some of the best in the Championship, with the majority of his stats surpassing the league median value. Brown has a high percentile in terms of average expected goals and has a shot accuracy of 41.38%.
Stoke City are placed near the bottom in terms of defensive duels and defensive duels per 90. They have conceded 19 goals so far. The Potters have failed to avoid individual errors and have also been unable to protect their leads. They will be looking forward to being a better defensive side against Peterborough and have a good chance to maintain a clean sheet as the visitors have not been very effective in front of the goal.
The Posh hit a bit of form towards the end of October with wins over Hull City and Queens Park Rangers in quick succession, but they have since collected just one point from nine.
Following a 0-3 loss at Swansea City and a 1-1 draw to Huddersfield Town, Darren Ferguson’s side were undone by an Aleksandar Mitrovic goal in a 0-1 loss to Fulham last time out. That was the eighth game this season Peterborough failed to score in, with no team in the division attempting fewer shots (134) or finding the target less often.
Stoke City have promotion dreams this season, and their game against a struggling Peterborough side offers an excellent opportunity to keep momentum going. The visitors are very close to the drop and have not been at their best since their promotion. Their poor form on the road has played a key role in their struggles and will give Stoke City the advantage in this clash.
Stoke City predicted starting lineup:
Bursik, Ostigard, Wilmot, Chester, Smith, Vrancic, Thompson, Sawyers, Tymon, Campbell, Brown.
Peterborough United predicted starting lineup:
Cornell, Ward, Beevers, Kent, Butler, Burrows, Norburn, Taylor, Dembele, Szmodics, Clarke-Harris.
