Stoke City

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Stoke City head coach Narcís Pèlach will be hoping his Stoke City players come back from international duty unscathed this week.

Winger Million Manhoef is in the Netherlands Under-21 squad to face Sweden on Monday (17:45 BST).

Teenagers Sol Sidibe and Jaden Dixon are with England's U18s for Monday's home match with Ukraine (15:00 BST).

Potters number one Viktor Johannson could win his fifth Sweden cap against Estonia in the UEFA Nations League on Monday (19:45 BST).

Young goalkeeper Tommy Simkin, who is on loan at Walsall, will be joined by Tottenham Hotspur loanee Ashley Phillips in the England U20s squad for the meeting against the Czech Republic in Doncaster (19:00 BST).

Liverpool teenager Lewis Koumas will hope to feature when Craig Bellamy’s Wales host Montenegro on Monday (19:45 BST).

Other first-teamers representing their countries are Bae Junho with South Korea at home to Iraq (Tuesday 12:00 BST).

On-loan Brighton midfielder Andrew Moran is with the Republic of Ireland for their away trip to Italy and Jordan Thompson will help Northern Ireland take on Bulgaria (19:30 BST).

Stoke City are two unbeaten under head coach Narcis Pelach.

Following the 6-1 win over Portsmouth the Potters picked up a point at Swansea City.

In the latest episode of BBC Radio Stoke's 'A Cold Wet Tuesday Night' podcast, Lucas Yeomans and George Weaver (aka Potterlytics) discuss the result and what next for Stoke.

"It's a squad that should be pushing higher than 16th but it's a squad that has had three different playing styles in 10 months."

Listen to the full episode here.

Image source, Getty Images

Stoke City defender Ben Wilmot feels the club is heading in the right direction under head coach Narcís Pèlach.

The Catalonian has lost two, won one and drawn one of his first four games in charge.

Wilmot who has now played under four managers or head coaches since joining Stoke from Watford three years ago so consistency will be the key to success.

"Whoever is the most consistent tends to be the teams at the top of the table at the end of the year. It’s one thing certainly while I’ve been here, that we’ve really lacked.

"It’s win, loss sort of that up and down throughout a season, which isn’t good enough and someone like me who’s been here a while now can see the positive changes that have happened here,” Wilmot said.

The 23-year-old also praised Pèlach's approach since his appointment in September.

"It's completely different and we've had a lot of information with a load of games in a short space of time. So it's going to take a while to get used to it, we're almost having to learn on the job. We haven't had a free week in a long time, so it's been tough but the international break will be good for us to get used to what he wants us to do.

"We are in that good frame of mind where we have some good momentum at the minute. However we have a good block of days where we can train and the head coach can get more information into us."

Stoke City head to Swansea City on Saturday and head coach Narcís Pèlach will be looking for back to back wins.

Following the Potters 6-1 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday night, the Catalan coach is challenging his players to keep improving.

"We need to be on the front foot and organised. The Championship is perform, perform, perform and you need to do it every three days.

"It's not about how you play on Saturday it's how you will play on a Tuesday as well. If you are a six on Saturday and a two on Tuesday, for me Saturday is nothing. We have to try to be consistent."

After winning his first game as Stoke boss, he told BBC Radio Stoke what the win meant to him.

Stoke City won their first match under new head coach Narcis Pelach and what a win it was.

The Potters beat Portsmouth 6-1 with striker Tom Cannon scoring four goals.

In the latest episode of BBC Radio Stoke's 'A Cold Wet Tuesday Night' podcast, Lucas Yeomans and George Weaver (aka Potterlytics) discuss the impact of Pelach's changes and Cannon's big night.

"6-1 is such a rare scoreline, Stoke haven't had six sitters, there are a few where the goalkeeper will be looking at himself. They pounced on the chances that they got."

Listen to the full episode here.

Image source, BBC Sport

Stoke City will look to end a three game winless run in the Championship when they face Portsmouth at the bet365 Stadium on Wednesday night.

• Stoke City have won both of their last two league games against Portsmouth, and will be looking to win three in succession for the first time since April 1963.

• Portsmouth have failed to win any of their last six away league games against Stoke City (D2 L4) since a 2-0 victory in February 1995.

• Stoke have lost both of their last two home league games, last losing three in a row in October 2023.

• Portsmouth have only won three of their last 30 away games in the Championship (D10 L17), and are winless on the road this season (D2 L1).

• Stoke have only won one of their last eight league meetings with newly promoted opponents (D2 L5), a 3-0 win over Plymouth in April last season. At home, the Potters have failed to score in six of their last seven against promoted sides (W1 D1 L5).

The result leaves them fifth from bottom of the division before a home game against second from bottom Portsmouth on Wednesday evening (19:45 BST).

In the latest episode of BBC Radio Stoke's 'A Cold Wet Tuesday Night' podcast, Lucas Yeomans, George Weaver and Dana Malt (Boro Breakdown) discussed the Potters defeat and the way forward under head coach Narcis Pelach.

"I think there is going to be a backlash or something approaching a backlash about the way we were playing on the ball. It was clear by 10 minutes in we were quite happy to keep the ball at the back and be very very patient.

"I thought off the ball we were appalling"

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Stoke City's head coach Narcis Pelach will be looking for his first win in charge at Middlesbrough on Saturday, how confident are you that the Potters will come back with three points?

Lucas Yeomans is back with Praise and Grumble on BBC Radio Stoke at 18:00 BST where you can discuss anything you like about Stoke City.

Call the show to give your thoughts on 0800 121 8080 and listen live here.

Stoke City head to Middlesbrough looking end their Championship losing streak.

The Potters have lost back to back league games and new head coach Narcis Pelach is hoping for his first win in charge.

BBC Radio Stoke's Stoke City commentator, Sohail Sahi, names the team he would pick to take on Boro at the Riverside Stadium.

Listen here for the build-up to Saturday's match from 14:00 (BST) on BBC Radio Stoke.

Head coach Narcís Pèlach takes Stoke City to Middlesbrough for his first away game as the Potters new boss.

Here's a look at some of the key stats between the two teams.

• Middlesbrough have lost just one of their last eight home league games against Stoke City (W5 D2), though that sole defeat did come last season during a 2-0 loss at the Riverside Stadium.

• Stoke City produced a league double over Middlesbrough last season and will be looking to win three successive league matches against Boro for the first time since September 1958 (run of four).

• Middlesbrough have won only one of their last five league games (D2 L2), though have lost only one of their last nine league games at home (W5 D3).

• Stoke have lost four of their last five league games (W1), while away from home the Potters have suffered seven defeats from their previous 12 league matches (W4 D1)

• Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney has completed more progressive passes than any other Championship player this season (48), while only three players have more secondary chances created than his nine.

The Stoke City head coach Narcís Pèlach has been explaining what he expects from his squad of players.

Pèlach was appointed last week but lost his first game in charge at home to Hull City.

He told BBC Radio Stoke what his players will need to do if they are to have a successful season.

It's been a week since Narcís Pèlach was appointed Stoke City's new head coach and you've been letting us know your thoughts about the decision and direction of the football club. Here are just some of the comments you've sent.

Craig - We have sacked a manager with a promotion and a title on his CV, for a coach with no managerial experience from a club below us at the time of his appointment. We all thought we were in a period of stability and were prepared to accept incremental gains. This is madness and I can't see it ending well.

Leo - I think Schumacher was a good manager and the team aren’t going to fight for promotion if they change the staff once a year. As well as this, Laurent and Baker have left the club leaving a hole in the midfield. We have Burger and some others but we need somebody to come in and carry us. We do have great players but we need to be fighting for play-offs.

Paul - Nothing will change, Walter's is just a yes-man and will be John Coates scapegoat. Best football we played was under Mark Hughes.

Gary - I fear the worst, I thought Schumacher was doing ok and things would improve.

Ian - Stoke are in very dangerous place. We will just keep slipping down the leagues. We need a experience manager.

What do you want to see from your team going forward? Let us know here, external.