Top of the table Stoke City host West Bromwich Albion in their final home game before the September international break.
Separated by just 40 miles, the Potters and the Baggies – both founder members of the Football League – are three places and two points apart ahead of the latest chapter of a Midlands derby enriched with 137 years of history.
The hosts have made a remarkable start to the campaign, taking maximum points from their opening three league fixtures. However, the Potters were dumped out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bradford.
Meanwhile, West Brom sit fourth in the league and remain unbeaten with two wins and a draw. The Baggies will be frustrated at the points dropped against Portsmouth after some questionable refereeing decisions.
The visitors will also be without head coach Ryan Mason on the touchline after the 34-year-old admitted a charge of misconduct following his dismissal in the 1-1 draw with Pompey.
Team News
Divin Mubama will be available for selection after serving his one-match ban during Stoke’s Carabao Cup tie with Bradford.
Sam Gallagher remains sidelined for the hosts, along with new arrival Lamine Cisse.
Ryan Mason’s West Brom have experienced a turbulent couple of days that could lead to significant changes to their squad ahead of the clash with the Potters.
The arrival of Chris Mepham from Bournemouth could see the Welsh international slot straight into the starting XI.
Darnell Furlong, Tom Fellows, and Caleb Taylor are all nearing exits from the West Midlands club ahead of the transfer deadline on Monday, 1 September.
Predicted Lineups
Stoke City:
Viktor Johansson (GK), Junior Tchamadeu, Ben Wilmot, Bosun Lawal, Aaron Cresswell, Tatsuki Seko, Lewis Baker, Joon-Ho Bae, Sorba Thomas, Million Manhoef, Divin Mubama.
West Bromwich Albion:
Josh Griffiths (GK), George Campbell, Chris Mepham, Nathan Phillips, Callum Styles, Alex Mowatt, Jayson Molumby, Isaac Price, Karlan Grant, Mikey Johnston, Aune Heggebo.
Players To Watch
Stoke City: Sorba Thomas
The Welsh international has made a flying start to his Stoke career, notching two goals and three assists since his arrival – the highest combined goals and assists tally in the league.
The 26-year-old will likely look to target George Campbell, who is expected to play out of position at right-back due to Darnell Furlong’s pending departure.
West Bromwich Albion: Mikey Johnston
The 26-year-old has earned his place back in the starting team after coming off the bench in the first two league games of the campaign.
His two assists away at Wrexham and dipping finish against Portsmouth has also seen the Republic of Ireland international receive a call-up for the upcoming World Cup qualification fixtures.
Previous Meetings Between Stoke City And West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Stoke City, January 2025
Stoke earned a valuable point on the road against caretaker Chris Brunt’s West Brom at The Hawthorns. The recalled Nathan Lowe opened the scoring in the 9th minute, before Grady Diangana equalised midway through the second half.
Stoke City 1-2 West Bromwich Albion, August 2024
The Baggies claimed their second win in three second-tier matches at the start of the 2024/25 campaign at Stoke City 12 months ago. Karlan Grant’s header put the visitors 1-0 up, but Lewis Koumas equalised on the stroke of the half-hour mark.
Moments later, though, Josh Maja placed the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to put Carlos Corberán’s outfit back in front. Both teams had chances in the second period, but Albion held on to the three points.
Stoke City 2-2 West Bromwich Albion, April 2024
The Potters fought back from 2-0 down to claim a point in the Sky Bet Championship towards the back end of the 2023/24 term.
Mikey Johnston’s powerful finish and Jed Wallace’s close-range effort had Albion in a strong position heading into the final 22 minutes, but Stoke had a late surge and secured a draw thanks to goals from Million Manhoef and Andre Vidigal.
Key Statistics
- Three of the last four matches between the sides at the bet365 Stadium have ended in 2-1 scorelines. The other game finished 2-2.
- Both teams have scored in all of the last six meetings, with 17 goals scored across those matches.
- Stoke have won three matches at the start of a league campaign for the first time since 1998/99 when they were playing in the third tier.
- This weekend’s clash will be the third year in-a-row Albion have visited the bet365 Stadium in August.
- Chelsea are the only club Baggies boss Ryan Mason faced more times as a player. Mason met the Potters on six occasions during his career, winning one, drawing two and losing three. He came up against Chelsea seven times.
