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

Looking to record back-to-back victories at the bet365 Stadium this week, Stoke City welcome Hull City to Staffordshire for a Championship clash on Saturday afternoon.

The Potters secured a routine success over struggling Charlton Athletic last time out, whilst the Tigers were sentenced to a home defeat by a pre-season title favourite on Humberside.

Match preview

Approaching nearly a decade of mid-table mediocrity in the Championship following their relegation alongside Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion from the Premier League in 2018, Stoke City are finally making a genuine attempt to reach the top flight once more.

The Potters have recently shown the ability to fight back from adversity, recording a standout three-goal triumph over Charlton at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday, just three days after suffering back-to-back league defeats for the first time in the 2025-26 season.

Winning four of their last six matches in the second tier, Stoke are currently occupying second spot in the Championship standings ahead of this weekend's hosting of Yorkshire outfit Hull, level on points with third-placed Middlesbrough but a mammoth 10 points behind pacesetters Coventry City.

Providing three goal contributions during the success over Nathan Jones's Addicks earlier in the week, Wales international Sorba Thomas is up to six league goals for the campaign, already surpassing his career-best tally of four for Huddersfield Town in 2023-24.

Looking to record their sixth home win of the campaign on the ninth occasion this Saturday, the Potters have leaned on a brilliant solidity at their Staffordshire home, with Mark Robins's men conceding just five goals across eight games at the bet365 Stadium.

Since returning from the final international break of the calendar year, Hull City have experienced back-to-back defeats for the first time since late August, with clashes against both Queens Park Rangers and title favourites Ipswich ending in losses over the past seven days.

It appeared as if the Tigers were on course for a respectable share of the spoils against the Tractor Boys on Tuesday night, but the visitors delivered a pair of late blows at the MKM Stadium, with summer arrivals Marcelino Nunez and Chuba Akpom finding the net.

After losing three of their last four matches in the second tier, Hull have dropped down to 11th position in the Championship table ahead of a trip to the Midlands this weekend, although they are still just two points behind Preston North End in the lowest of the playoff spots.

Only Sheffield Wednesday (6), Watford (6) and Portsmouth (6) have collected fewer than the Tigers' eight points on the road this season, with Sergej Jakirovic's men losing their most recent outing at QPR on November 22.

Following a five-goal return during the second half of the last campaign for Hull, Joe Gelhardt is back on Humberside and making waves on the Championship scene, with the Leeds United loanee bagging eight strikes to date.

Stoke City Championship form:

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Hull City Championship form:

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Team News

Picking up a knock during the win over Charlton last time out, Stoke's Ben Wilmot is a doubt for Saturday afternoon.

The centre-back is potentially set to join midfielder Lewis Baker in the Potters' medical room, with the 30-year-old recovering from an ankle injury.

As a result, Ashley Phillips may require a new partner at the heart of defence, in which case Bosun Lawal could enter the XI this weekend.

Hull are sweating over the fitness of talisman Oli McBurnie, who has missed over a month of action owing to a knee problem.

The Tigers' options at the top end of the pitch are reduced further by the absences of Kasey Palmer (knee) and Liam Millar (hamstring).

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Tchmadeu, Lawal, Bocat; Nzonzi, Seko, Manhoef, Bae, Thomas; Bozenik

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Pandur; Coyle, Ajayi, Hughes, Giles; Hadziahmetovic, Slater, Gelhardt, Gyabi, Belloumi; Joseph

We say: Stoke City 2-0 Hull City

After easing past the attentions of Charlton earlier in the week, Stoke will be confident of doing the same against Hull on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers are slowly sliding down the table after a run of concerning results, and we feel that it could get worse for the visitors in Staffordshire this weekend.

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