Live Commentary: Manchester City 0-1 Stoke City - as it happened

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Man City 0-1 Stoke - as it happened
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Champions Manchester City played host to Stoke City this afternoon looking to record their third successive victory.

However, a second-half goal from former Manchester United frontman Mame Biram Diouf proved decisive as Mark Hughes's visitors left the Etihad Stadium with all three points.

You can find out how the encounter unfolded with Sports Mole's live text updates below.

4.55pmThat is all we have time for from the Etihad Stadium. Thanks for joining Sports Mole this afternoon and be sure to keep an eye for our analysis and player rating articles, which will be on the site shortly. Until next time, goodbye.

4.53pmThere you have it! It was a fantastic performance from Stoke and they fully deserve their victory at the home of the champions. That is only the second time that Pellegrini has lost a Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium.

90+4 minFULL TIME: MAN CITY 0-1 STOKE

90+1 minCHANCE! A lovely cross from Fernandinho is met by Dzeko, who is able to get a glance on the ball, only to see his effort skid wide of the target. Three minutes left for Stoke to hold out.

90 minCity have four minutes of stoppage time to grab an equaliser. Can they do it? Stoke, to be fair, are defending very well right now.

88 minBOOKING! Huge moment in this match as Toure hits the deck inside the Stoke area under a challenge from Pieters. The City midfielder wants a penalty, but Lee Mason dishes out a yellow card for diving rather than pointing to the spot. Replays show that it was the correct decision from the match official.

85 minBardsley has been fantastic for Stoke today. He's continuing to bomb forward, while making a host of important clearances and tackles in the Stoke half. Just now he won a free-kick on the edge of his own box, which relieved the pressure. City are knocking on the door, but the visitors are holding firm right now.

80 minSTOKE SUB: Final change for Stoke and unsurprisingly it's a defensive one. Off comes Moses, who has put in a good shift, with defender Marc Muniesa taking his place.

77 minAfter that Crouch miss, Stoke have been holding on. Toure goes for goal from the edge of the area, which commits Begovic to dive to his right. The ball deflects off Wilson, though, and it appears to be creeping in the opposite corner, before it slides just wide of the target. Big escape for the away team.

73 minCHANCE! Big, big, big opportunity for Stoke to open up a two-goal advantage. Bardsley does brilliantly to wriggle free down the right to get in a cross, which Crouch meets eight yards from goal. His header is lacking both the power and direction, though, as Hart watches it trickle wide. The former England forward should have done much better with that and he knows it. Will Stoke be punished for it?

71 minPENALTY APPEAL! Huge shouts for a penalty from the home players and supporters, but the referee is unmoved. The ball did strike Stoke defender Wilson on the hand, but it would have been harsh because the ball had pinballed around the area following a strike by Aguero. It certainly wasn't intentional.

69 minCHANCE! Almost an immediate impact from City's two substitutes as Navas dinks a cross into the Stoke area, which sees Dzeko leap higher than the Stoke rearguard to meet. The Bosnian cannot keep his effort down, though, and Begovic is able to watch it fly over the crossbar. The City frontman will feel that he should have done much better there.

65 minSTOKE SUB: Disappointing for Odemwingie, who only came on at half-time. He's overstretched, though, and cannot continue. The Nigerian has been replaced by Charlie Adam.

64 minMAN CITY SUBS: Pellegrini has reacted to his side falling behind by making two changes. On come Edin Dzeko and Jesus Navas, off go Nasri and Jovetic.

62 minCHANCE! My word Stoke are so close to going 2-0 up as Odemwingie gets the better of Demichelis, before drilling in a low cross. An unmarked Diouf slides in with the goal at his mercy, but he just fails to make contact with the ball and the chance is gone. City live to fight another day!

58 minWell, well - a former Man United striker has put Stoke in front at the Etihad Stadium! Begovic saves from Toure and when the resultant corner is cleared, the ball breaks for Diouf. He moves forwards and into the City half, where Fernandinho is blocking his route to goal. The Senegalese international makes light work of beating the City midfielder, before going on to slot the ball inside Hart's near post. That is some goal from Stoke's summer signing! Can the champions respond?

58 minGOAL! MAN CITY 0-1 STOKE (DIOUF)

53 minBOOKING! That is the most obvious yellow card you will see all weekend! With Stoke on the counter-attack, Fernandinho wipes out Moses and is rightly cautioned.

52 minMeanwhile, up the other end, the dainty feet of Silva and Nasri link up to open up a chance for the latter, but his low shot is brilliantly blocked by a sliding Bardsley. From City's point of view, we haven't seen enough of those two on the ball so far today.

48 minSTOKE SUB: Incidentally, there has been a change for Stoke, with Walters being replaced by the lively Odemwingie. Will the Nigerian be able to carry out the necessary defensive responsibilities? We shall see.

46 minRESTART! Right, the players have returned and visiting Stoke get the game back underway at the Etihad Stadium.

3.58pmMeanwhile, for Stoke, it's all about concentration levels. They have to keep working as hard as they did during that first half. Not that they only defended, because at times they were adventurous, but it's all about getting the balance right during the second half.

3.54pmAs far as Pellegrini is concerned, he will probably be urging his side to shift the ball a bit quicker, particularly in the final third of the pitch. They've been a little too pedestrian in possession, which has made it easy for Stoke to defend. The one time that they did move the ball with pace, they hit the crossbar.

3.51pmThere you go then - after that late escape, Stoke head into the break at the Etihad Stadium level with the champions. You'd have to say that they deserve that bit of luck because they've played well so far.

45+3 minHALF-TIME: MAN CITY 0-0 STOKE

45+3 minHALF-TIME: MAN CITY 0-0 STOKE

45+2 minCROSSBAR! Now that would have been painful for Stoke! Aguero's flick releases Kolarov, who picks out Toure inside area. His rising effort beats Begovic all ends up, but the away side are saved by the crossbar.

45 minThe injuries to Aguero and Fernando means that there will be three minutes of stoppage time at the end of this first half. It's important that Stoke hold out here.

42 minSay it quietly, but Stoke actually look quite comfortable as we approach half-time. That can all change in a few seconds of course, but Hughes is bound to be pleased with the way that his side has played so far.

38 minMAN CITY SUB: Or maybe not! Fernando is unable to continue and he has been replaced by Fernandinho. It's like for like, in terms of the type of player and almost in name!

37 minThe good news for City is that Fernando has returned to the action, but the bad news is that he's not moving overly freely. Perhaps it's a case of trying to get through to the break when the problem can be properly treated.

34 minNow Fernando has hit the deck for City with what looks to be a groin complaint. The midfielder is currently receiving treatment.

30 minSAVE! First piece of work for City goalkeeper Joe Hart, who will be hoping that it remains this easy throughout the game. Initially Crouch does brilliantly well to bring down a lofted pass, but his shot from the edge of the area is lacking in power and Hart collects with relative ease.

27 minThere's been some handbags between Shawcross and Jovetic, with the latter having grabbed the Stoke captain from behind. The situation has been diffused, though, and play has continued with neither player being booked. It was all a bit unnecessary.

25 minIn the last few minutes, Stoke have actually come into this encounter. You wouldn't say that they are exactly putting a lot of pressure on City, but they are at least having some possession. Having said that, they do need to get more support up to Crouch, who is cutting a frustrated figure up front.

22 minBOOKING! And Stoke can feel aggrieved again as full-back Bardsley goes into the book for a challenge on Silva. The Stoke defender actually got the ball, but referee Mason is having none of it and cautions Bardsley.

21 minPENALTY APPEAL! Stoke attacker Diouf wants a penalty, having taken a tumble inside the area as he tried to beat Kolarov and replays show that he had a case. There was definite contact between the two players and you'd have to say that referee Lee Mason has made a mistake in not awarding a penalty to the away side.

18 min

15 minAccording to the latest statistic, City have had 85% of the possession so far! No goal to show for it, though.

12 minSAVE! The first major contribution from Sagna in a City shirt as he bursts down the right flank, before pulling a cross back for Nasri 12 yards from goal. The Frenchman's shot has plenty of power, but it's a relatively straightforward stop for a goalkeeper of Begovic's quality.

10 minThe first venture forward for Stoke as they counter-attack in numbers. However, the shooting opportunity falls to the wrong player as N'Zonzi fires his effort from 25 yards out way over the crossbar.

8 minIt's been all City so far and they go close as Kompany flicks on Silva's corner, but Toure cannot quite reach the ball and it is eventually easily cleared. It has been a bright start from the hosts and more positive news - Aguero is running around much more freely now.

5 minThe Argentine is now on to his feet, but he's limping. It appears that he has dead leg, although he has returned to the action to try to run it off.

3 minSome potentially bad news for City early on because Aguero is down following a collision with Ryan Shawcross. He looks to be in a lot of discomfort.

1 minKICKOFF! Hosting City, attacking from left to right, get proceedings underway at the Etihad Stadium.

2.55pmRight, the players have now filtered through into the tunnel area. It won't be long now until we get underway at the Etihad Stadium.

2.50pmPREDICTION: The chaps have had their say in the video below, but here is my stab at predicting the outcome of this one. As Hughes pointed out during the week, the options available to City are scary. Boosted by the return to the team of Aguero, they should have two much for Stoke. Let's go for a 3-1 win, with the Argentine get his name on the scoresheet.

2.45pmHEAD TO HEAD: These two sides have met on 46 occasions in Manchester, with the hosts winning 28 of them. Stoke, meanwhile, have headed back home with all three points just six times. Overall, there has been 94 games between the two teams, with City leading 40-31 overall.

2.39pmMan City fans will be pleased to hear that the neighbours Manchester United are STILL without a win this season. The final whistle has just gone at Turf Moor, with Burnley holding Louis van Gaal's men to a 0-0 draw. Sports Mole's match report of the contest can be found here.

2.34pmWith a little under half an hour to go until we get underway, here is how the Sports Mole sofa see this clash going:
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2.30pmAnd here is Pellegrini's viewpoint: "Of course I am absolutely sure we are going to have a lot of problems against a difficult team like Stoke. Last year, in our best moment, we won just 1-0 at home. "In the first two games they have just one draw but I am sure they are going to come here to try and do a tough game, and we need to play very well if we are to win."

2.24pmRight, let's take a look at what the two managers have been saying in the days leading up to this game, starting with Stoke boss Hughes: "They have a quite incredible squad of players, and to be honest, it is tough for us to analyse them and have a clear indication of what they may do on the day," he told reporters. "It's impossible to second guess what Mr Pellegrini is going to do because of the options he has available to him. I watched them on Monday night, and for an hour they were absolutely fantastic. It will be a very difficult afternoon for us for sure. I am looking forward to going back there, though."

2.19pmWant a fancy Vine of Man City's starting lineup? Of course you do:

2.14pmHaving scored a couple of goals against Portsmouth in the League Cup during the week, Jonathan Walters has retained his place in the side, with the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Marko Arnautovic being relegated to the bench, where they will be joined by former Barcelona frontman Bojan. It's certainly a physical side that Mark Hughes has picked.

2.11pmSTOKE SUBS: Sorensen, Huth, Muniesa, Odemwingie, Arnautovic, Adam, Bojan.

2.10pmSTOKE XI: Begovic; Bardsley, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters; Whelan, Nzonzi; Diouf, Walters, Moses; Crouch

2.09pmAnd now for visiting Stoke...

2.08pmOf course it's Sergio Aguero that has been included in the City starting lineup for the first time this term. He will partner Stevan Jovetic, with Edin Dzeko dropping down to the bench. Elsewhere, there is a start for summer signing Bacary Sagna at right-back, while Fernando continues to keep Fernandinho out of the side. It's a very strong bench that Manuel Pellegrini has at his disposal.

2.05pmMAN CITY SUBS: Caballero, Clichy, Zabaleta, Fernandinho, Milner, Navas, Dzeko

2.04pmMAN CITY XI: Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov; Fernando, Toure; Nasri Silva; Jovetic, Aguero

2.03pmBefore we go any further, let's begin with the team news from the Etihad Stadium. As far as the hosts are concerned, there is a welcome return to the starting lineup for a certain Argentine striker...

2.02pmAfternoon all. So, having collected six points from clashes against Newcastle United and Liverpool, champions Manchester City put their winning record on the line today at home to Stoke City. Can the visitors cause an upset? All logic would suggest not, but this is the Premier League don't forget!
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