Stoke City host Norwich City at the Bet365 Stadium this Saturday in the Championship. Norwich are knocking on the door of the Play-offs whereas Stoke sit a little too close for comfort to the relegation zone.
Stoke currently sit 19th in the Championship after 37 games. The Potters have 11 wins, eight draws and 18 losses, leaving them on 41 points, just three points above the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Stoke have two wins and three losses.
After a goalless first half, Ellis Simms scored the only goal of the game in the early stages of the first half to give Coventry the 1 - 0 win, with Stoke having just one shot on target. Kion Etete opened the scoring for Cardiff in the fifth minute and Karlan Grant doubled the Bluebirds’ lead just after the 30 minute mark. Bae Jun-ho did get Stoke on the scoresheet before halftime. Despite having six shots on target and 61% of the possession, Stoke were unable to find another goal and slumped to a 2 - 1 loss.
Stoke bounced back the next time out against Middlesbrough. The Potters had just 37% of the possession but goals from Jun-ho and Lewis Baker gave Stoke the 2 - 0 win over Middlesbrough. However, a trip to high-flying Leeds was one to forget for Stoke. Dan James scored the only goal of the game in the 33rd minute to give Leeds the 1 - 0 win over a ten-man Stoke, with Ben Pearson being sent off late on.
The last time out for Stoke was against Preston. An own goal from Andrew Hughes gave Stoke the lead in the 64th minute, but Milutin Osmajic equalised for Preston within four minutes. However, Luke McNally scored with just minutes to go to grab the 2 - 1 win for Stoke.
Norwich, on the other hand, currently sit sixth in the Championship. In 37 games, The Canaries have 17 wins, seven draws and 13 losses which leaves them on 58 points, equal with seventh-place Hull City and five points from West Brom.
In their last five games in all competitions, Norwich have three wins, one draw and one loss.
Jamilu Collins gave Cardiff the early lead, but Josh Sargent’s first goal and a goal from Gabriel Sara gave Norwich the 2 - 1 lead at halftime. Another goal from Sargent and a late goal from Christian Fassnacht secured the 4 - 1 win for Norwich. Marcelino Nunez opened the scoring for Norwich but in the second half Dominic Hyam grabbed a goal for Blackburn Rovers to force a 1 - 1 draw.
Norwich were back to winning ways against Sunderland. Sargent scored the only goal of the game in the 81st minute to give Norwich the 1 - 0 win over Sunderland. The trip to Middlesbrough saw Ashley Barnes give Norwich the lead but following the red card to Borja Sainz, Marcus Forss, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Lukas Engel all scored to give Middlesbrough the 3 - 1 win.
The most recent outing for Norwich was against a struggling Rotherham. A brace from Gabriel Sara and goals from Jacob Sorensen, Sainz and Sargent gave Norwich the big 5 - 0 win.
Stoke and Norwich have met 60 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1960. Nothing separates the two sides, with both Stoke and Norwich picking up 21 wins, the other 18 games ending in a draw.
