Preview:Stoke City vs Burnley - prediction, team news, lineups

Stoke City will put the finishing touches to their preparation for the new season when they face Burnley in a friendly at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday.

Mark Robins’s men have already held Premier League opposition here in the form of Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, and another positive result will be on their mind before facing Derby County on the opening day.

Match preview

After another dismal campaign that saw Stoke record their lowest league finish since the 2002-03 season, they hope giving Robins a full preseason will be key to them kicking on in 2025-26.

Since relegation from the Premier League, Stoke have finished between 14th and 18th in all seven seasons in the Championship, with last season’s 18th-placed finish being their worst yet.

A lack of inventiveness in attack has seen attendances dwindle away for the Potters, as only Hull City netted fewer than their 45 goals in 46 Championship games last season.

None of their final three games yielded a single goal, including a 6-0 defeat to eventual-champions Leeds United, but even though Robins has a good track record in the Championship recently, Stoke are not fancied to threaten the upper echelons of the table.

Robins took Coventry City to the brink of the Premier League and the narrowest of offside calls denied them a spot in an FA Cup final, but it is tough to see him working the same sort of miracles with Stoke, unless there is an extraordinary turnaround.

Stoke now conclude their pre-season prep against a Burnley side that won 2-0 here on the way to promotion last season.

The Clarets have made an instant return to the top flight, winning their final five games to amass 100 points, but still fall short on goal difference for the title behind Leeds.

Scott Parker will now hope to be the man to end Burnley’s yo-yoing between the top two divisions, as their last two PL seasons have both ended in relegation, and they are among the big favourites to suffer the same fate again.

Before kicking their Premier League campaign off against Tottenham Hotspur on August 16, Burnley will visit Stoke here, before hosting Serie A giants Lazio next weekend, having only got back into the swing of things last week.

Burnley had two friendlies last weekend, using two different XI’s, with one drawing 2-2 with Shrewsbury Town, and the other beating Huddersfield Town 2-0.

Stoke City Preseason form:

L L W D

Burnley Preseason form:

W D

Team News

Despite discontent from the supporters, Stoke have been active in the transfer market, backing Robins with new players, with the most notable being Robert Bozenik’s move from Boavista.

The Slovak forward has been joined at the Bet365 Stadium by fellow striker Divin Mubama on loan from Manchester City, as well Aaron Cresswell, Sorba Thomas and Maksym Talovierov, who all add experience and quality.

Stoke have also been able to call upon Eric Bocat during preseason, after he missed the end of the 2024-25 campaign with injury.

Burnley have been busy in the market too, rebuilding for another shot in the top flight, with Kyle Walker being their most notable addition, while Quilindschy Hartman, Jacob Bruun Larsen and Loum Tchaouna have all arrived to add further quality out wide.

CJ Egan-Riley has left for Marseille though, and goalkeeper James Trafford is set to sign for Manchester City, so two colossuses at the back last season for the Clarets will not be with them in the Premier League.

On top of that, Bashir Humphreys is not yet fit after making his loan from Chelsea permanent, and Jordan Beyer and Benson Manuel are also sidelined with injury.

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Wilmot, Boca, Cresswell; Lawal, Pearson, Baker, Bae, Thomas; Mubama, Bozenik

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Hladky; Walker, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Lucas Pires; Cullen, Mejbri; Bruun Larsen, Fleming, Anthony; Tchaouna

We say: Stoke City 1-1 Burnley

Burnley have opted not to stack their pre-season schedule full of friendlies, so it is tough to gauge where they are at with their preparation, especially considering they fielded two different XI’s last week.

Stoke should be close to full match sharpness with their season starting a week earlier, and that could allow them to be more competitive in this friendly.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.