Stoke City welcome the visit of Watford in the Premier League on Saturday, as Mark Hughes aims to guide his men to four consecutive wins in the league.
As for the travelling Hornets, they are without a victory in three fixtures and are coming off the back of a defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
Stoke City
© Getty Images
Hughes and his men have seemingly put a frustrating start to the campaign behind them, having now notched four wins on the bounce across all competitions.
What will be even more pleasing for Hughes is that his side have managed to carry some Premier League form beyond the international break, notching a maximum nine points from three league fixtures.
After initially struggling, the Potters have produced wins against other battling sides in the shape of Bournemouth and Aston Villa, and they most recently sent Swansea City to defeat at the Liberty Stadium on Monday night.
That result marked Stoke's second away win in a row without conceding, and they showed some admirable resilience on the road against Villa and the Swans to win by a solitary goal.
Jack Butland has produced some impressive displays already this season and he appears to have made a huge difference to Stoke, given that he has already made 39 saves this campaign - the most made by any keeper in the league.
Mame Biram Diouf has been in fantastic form this term and Stoke will be eager to get him back into the side at some point in the coming weeks, although it is still unclear as to when he will return following the reported death of his mother.
City will be aiming to make it four league wins on the trot for the first time since December 2011, but they will be well aware that they have failed to score in three consecutive league games at the Britannia Stadium when facing the Hornets.
Recent form: LLDWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LDWWWW
Watford
© Getty Images
Following impressive victories over Swansea and Newcastle United in mid September, the Hornets are winless in their last three domestic games.
Quique Flores will arguably still be frustrated given that they slipped up in potentially decisive games against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, where they were able to take just one point from six.
What followed next was perhaps a rather predictable defeat at home to an in-form Arsenal side, leaving Flores and company eager to get things back on track when they visit the Britannia on Saturday.
Despite the intensity of visiting Stoke at home, the Hornets actually have a rather remarkable record when travelling to the Potteries.
As mentioned, Stoke have not scored against Watford in their last three at home, while the Hornets remain unbeaten in their last five league meetings with Stoke and have kept a clean sheet in all five too.
What will be slightly worrying for the visitors at the weekend is the fact that they have converted a league-low six goals, while also holding the lowest shot conversion rate in the Premier League this term.
Flores will know that a point could be important for his side given the fixtures that they have ahead in the coming weeks. The Hornets face West Ham United and Leicester City, before welcoming Manchester United to Vicarage Road. The club's coach will be keen to put together some sort of points tally before playing host to Louis van Gaal and his men in November.
Recent form: LWWLDL
Team News
© Getty Images
The game has come too soon for Stoke skipper Ryan Shawcross as he aims to continue his recovery from injury.
Jonathan Walters and Shay Given are also doubtful, while Diouf's situation remains unclear, meaning that Hughes could keep with the same side that beat Swansea on Monday. That would leave Joselu with a chance to retain his starting spot up top in attack.
As for the visitors, Joel Ekstrand and Jurado remain highly unlikely to make it back in time for the visit to the Britannia.
Valon Behrami was unable to pick up any minutes against Arsenal, but he could push to challenge Ben Watson for a position in the middle of the park.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Butland; Pieters, Wollscheid, Cameron, Johnson; Adam, Whelan, Arnautovic, Bojan, Shaqiri; Joselu
Watford possible starting lineup:
Gomes; Ake, Prodl, Cathcart, Nyom; Abdi, Behrami, Capoue, Anya; Deeney, Ighalo
Head To Head
The clubs last met when competing in the Championship in the 2007-08 season, as the sides played out a goalless draw in Hertfordshire. In the earlier reverse fixture, another goalless stalemate was reached in Staffordshire. Over their past six meetings when playing in the Championship, Watford have beaten Stoke three times, drawn twice and were defeated by the Potters once back in 2004.
Video Preview
Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Stoke City 2-1 Watford
Stoke will come into this game with a great deal of confidence and will be hopeful of making it four league wins in a row. They have some solidity at the back now and can also rely on Butland when they are broken down. Going forward City have a number of quality players that are capable of causing the Hornets some trouble. As for the visitors, Watford's lowly goals tally could be a major stumbling block at the Britannia and they will need to be clinical should they want to take something away from the game.
Christopher Dodd
