Stoke face Nottingham Forest in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday. Coverage gets underway live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm, while kick-off is at 8pm.
Team news
Stoke have no fresh injury or suspension concerns. Skipper Ryan Shawcross remains the only absentee for the Potters as he continues his recovery from a broken leg.
The Potters made 10 changes for the midweek Carabao Cup penalty shootout defeat at Crawley, with Lee Gregory, Sam Clucas and Tom Ince expected to come back in.
Forest head into the game knowing they will move top of the table with a first win at Stoke since 1994. They, are likely to revert to a line-up resembling that of their 1-0 Sky Bet Championship victory over Barnsley last weekend following a crushing cup defeat at Arsenal in midweek.
Left-back Yuri Ribeiro impressed at the Emirates Stadium and looks set to keep his place, while it is hoped Joe Lolley will be fit after he limped out of the action with nine minutes remaining. One of Tiago Silva or Joao Carvalho are expected to drop to the bench.
Recent form
It has not been a good season so far for Stoke and Nathan Jones. Their goalless draw at Brentford last Saturday earned them just a second Championship point of the campaign, leaving them 23rd in the table. To make matters worse, on Tuesday night they crashed out of the Carabao Cup at League Two side Crawley, being beaten on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Nottingham Forest were thumped at Arsenal in the Carabao Cup in midweek, losing 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium, but it was a much-changed side and their recent Championship form has been excellent. They are unbeaten since the opening day of the season and back-to-back 1-0 wins has seen them move up to sixth. A win on Friday night would send them top of the table.
What the managers said...
Nathan Jones: "How much more pressure can you put on any one game, manager or result? If you want to put a little more on it then that is fine by me, because it will be no more than I put on myself.
"I put myself under [that pressure] as a manager. Luton were a massive club and we had to win every game. I could have taken an easy job after that where I could bed in as a Championship manager, but I have taken one where the pressure is to win every game. But I like the pressure and I enjoy that pressure, it's why I do the job. Otherwise, I would go back to Wales and live happily ever after and see all my mates. But that's not the life I want."
Sabri Lamouchi: "It is very important that we return to the league with the right mentality. It will not be an easy game at Stoke because they have many good individual players and a couple of red cards in their recent matches have changed the results and they don't deserve to be where they are in the table.
"It is really important to us to keep this momentum going but we must remember after [the game] we will still only have played nine league games. If we go top of the table then that's because we deserve it but there is still so much football to be played over the rest of the season."
Talking point: What has gone wrong at Stoke?
It has been a grim start to the season for Stoke and a poor 2019 for Nathan Jones. He has won just four of his 32 games in charge so far, which is significantly worse than the record of his predecessor Gary Rowett.
Some of the underlying numbers are not as bad as results would suggest. Stoke sit mid-table for possession, shots, chances created and touches inside the box. The lack of a cutting edge has undermined them but given 31-year-old Lee Gregory's record of 29 goals in 134 games at Championship level, perhaps that is no surprise. He is without a goal in seven starts so far. They need goals, a performance and a win on Friday night.
Latest highlights
Opta stats
Stoke are unbeaten in six home games against Nottingham Forest in all competitions (W2 D4) since a 1-0 defeat in March 1994.
Nottingham Forest haven't lost consecutive away league visits to Stoke since losing three in a row between March 1930 and Christmas Day 1931.
Stoke City are winless in their last 14 Championship games (D6 L8), and are one of just two sides without a victory in the division so far this season (along with Huddersfield).
Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last five away league games (W3 D2), and are looking to secure three consecutive victories on the road for the first time since March 2013.
No side has lost more points from winning positions in the Championship this season than Stoke (8), with the Potters losing two and drawing one of the three games in which they've led.
Nottingham Forest's Lewis Grabban has been directly involved in four goals in his four away league games this season (3 goals, 1 assist).
Prutton's prediction
It feels like I have said this every week, probably because I have! But this really could be make or break for Nathan Jones. The defeat at Crawley on penalties in the Carabao Cup in midweek was another real blow for Stoke's season.
Nottingham Forest, despite their thrashing at Arsenal, are in pretty decent nick in the Championship and haven't lost since the opening day. They should have too much confidence and see off Stoke.
David Prutton predicts: 0-2 (14/1 with Sky Bet)