Stoke City vs Newcastle United: Match Preview

Venue: Britannia Stadium

Date: 2/03/2016

Time: 7:45 PM BST

Newcastle United travel to the Britannia Stadium to square off against Stoke City on Wednesday night and the Magpies could potentially lift themselves off of the relegation zone by avoiding a defeat from the clash.

Without even playing, Newcastle United enjoyed a very positive weekend in the Premier League after seeing rivals Sunderland, Norwich City and Aston Villa all suffer defeats in their respective matches.

Before Newcastle United feature in a competitive fixture against Stoke City on Wednesday night (for the first time since February 13), they will have two games in hand over Sunderland, Norwich and Villa.

However, points on the board are clearly more important than games in hand and it will be of paramount importance for the Magpies to claim something from their visit to the Britannia Stadium in midweek.

Newcastle United Team News

Newcastle United used the opportunity of the extended break to head to sunny Spain and conducted a warm-weather training camp at the La Manga Club resort. During their stay in Spain, Newcastle featured in a friendly against Lillestorm and managed to claim a 2-1 victory over the Norwegian side.

The break has allowed the likes of Vurnon Anita and Siem De Jong to return to fitness but the likes of Curtis Good, Chancel Mbemba, Gabriel Oberton and Ivan Toney remain out.

Tim Krul and Massadio Haidara are still nursing themselves back from long term knee injuries while as a blow, captain Fabricio Coloccini picked up a calf problem in Spain and is likely to miss the next few matches.

In the game against Lillestorm, Karl Darlow, Jamal Lascelles, Liam Gibson, Henri Saivet and Seydou Doumbia were all handed a chance to start while Jonjo Shelvey was named as skipper in the absence of Coloccini.

It is expected that McClaren will make wholesale changes to the side which featured in Spain but the likes of Lascelles, Saivet and even young Gibson may be in contention to start against Stoke.

Newcastle United Probable Lineup

Rob Elliot was handed a rest against Lillestorm and he is very likely to replace Darlow between the sticks against Stoke on Wednesday night. With Mbemba and Coloccini out, Lascelles should start at the heart of the backline alongside Steven Taylor.

Rolando Aarons had a shocker against Chelsea in the Premier League last time out but he somewhat managed to recover by scoring the winner in the friendly against Lillestorm and the youngster is expected to start at left back, while Daryl Janmaat continues on the right.

Liam Gibson did well in Spain but McClaren may decide not to throw the youngster in against a team such as Stoke which possesses a number of quality wide players.

Jack Colback and Jonjo Shelvey are likely to start at the middle of the park while Georginio Wijnaldum will be playing in the hole behind the long striker. Andros Townsend and Moussa Sissoko look set to be occupying the wide positions while Henri Saivet could also be in contention.

With Mitrovic and Cisse both struggling, Ayoze Perez might get the nod to lead the line but Seydou Doumbia may also fancy his chances of starting on the night.

(4-2-3-1)

Elliot; Janmaat, Lascelles, Taylor, Aarons; Shelvey, Colback, Townsend, Wijnaldum, Sissoko; Perez

Stoke City Probable Lineup

The likes of Charlie Adam, Shay Given, Glen Johnson, Marc Muniesa, Ryan Shawcross and Marc Wilson all remain ruled out and it is very likely that the Potters will go with the same lineup which started in the 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.

(4-2-3-1)

Butland; Pieters, Wollscheid, Cameron, Bardsley; Imbula, Whelan, Arnautovic, Afellay, Shaqiri; Walters

Last Meetings

31/10/2015 Newcastle United 0 – 0 Stoke City

08/02/2015 Newcastle United 1 – 1 Stoke City

Stat Attack

  • Newcastle United and Stoke City have squared off against each other 67 times, with Magpies claiming 30 victories while the Potters earning 21
  • Newcastle have failed to beat Stoke in their last four consecutive encounters and have suffered 1-0 defeats in their last two visits to the Britannia Stadium
  • Stoke City have lost only once in their last five matches at home while Newcastle United have failed to claim a single point on their travels in their last five
  • Newcastle have only scored 27 goals this season while Stoke have managed 29, making them the 4th and 6th worst attacks respectively in the English top flight
  • Both the teams’ top scorers so far this season, Georginio Wijnaldum and Marko Arnautovic have 9 goals each to their names in the Premier League

Key Battles

Shaqiri and Arnautovic vs Janmaat and Aarons

Shaqiri and Arnautovic have been forging quite a partnership in recent times and they will certainly be raring to go up against Newcastle full backs Janmaat and Aarons on Wednesday night.

Janmaat is capable of containing Shaqiri but the Swiss international’s pace could cause the Dutchman a lot of problems. On the other flank, Aarons has the pace but not the experience when he comes up against the wily Arnautovic and it will be interesting to see who will come out on top in the battle in the wide positions.

Townsend and Sissoko vs Bardsley and Pieters

On the other side of the spectrum, Newcastle possess quick wingers of their own in Andros Townsend and Moussa Sissoko and they will have to extend the game as wide as possible against the likes of Erik Pieters and Phil Bardsley, who are not the quickest around.

Giannelli Imbula vs Jack Colback

Club record signing Giannelli Imbula is already making a mark for Stoke City at the middle of the park and his arrival has certainly sparked the Potters’ recent return to form.

Imbula is capable of dictating the pace of the game if allowed and it will be very important for Jack Colbac to prevent the Frenchman from asserting his influence on the game with his usual energy at the middle of the park.

141 thoughts on “Stoke City vs Newcastle United: Match Preview

  1. Sunderland’s statement said: “Had the club known that Mr Johnson intended to plead guilty to any of these charges then his employment would have been terminated immediately.
    “Indeed, upon learning of the guilty plea on 11 February 2016, the club acted quickly and decisively in terminating Adam Johnson’s contract without notice.
    “This has been an extremely difficult time for all involved. The victim and her family have endured an unimaginable ordeal in the last 12 months and we trust that they will now be allowed to move on with their lives without further intrusion or public scrutiny.”

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  2. Eric I’d like to see the court report on that. I know that Johnson said the club knew, but he’s a dirty perv liar …

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  3. “If the club knew he was going to please guilty” is the key phrase. They probably didn’t know this but did he tel them he had kissed her?

    Anyway I am going for a 2-0 defeat tonight. Enough for McClaren to say we are improving but yet another defeat. Our centre backs will get tore a strip off by their front three.

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  4. I know it is innocent until proven guilty but he bloody well admitted messing around with a minor and they had the police records and e-mails. Whether he said he was going to plead innocent or guilty should not have been considered. They should have sacked him and dealt with any legal consequences for their actions.

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  5. Also, I haven’t followed this ultra closely but I do remember that in the police interview he was asked if the kissing was “with tongues” and he said yes. They even gave him an out at first by asking if it was “a peck”. Sunderland had this transcript so they are totally full of **** in their statement.

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  6. So what you can take from that then is that Sunderland knew he did it but did not think he was going to plead guilty. They weren’t bother he’s a perv, just that he admitted to being one!!

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  7. Pretty much if the rumours are to be true, Sharpy. Of course they haven’t addressed the issue that he may or may not have told them he kissed her in their statement.

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  8. Cheers Eric. Surely the league needs to get involved in this. Sunderland stood by and supported him knowing he had taken advantage of a minor and furthermore stood by whilstbtheir supporters maligned her simply for being a victim. That’s not on.

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  9. Stuart79
    least some of us did not try to put some of the blame on the girl like ya good self did so what hes beat 1 charge whoop do

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  10. I am not a Mackem hater either. I left Newcastle when I was 19 and can count on 1 hand the number of Mackems I knew. The Mackem thing is more than banter for me but I don’t have a hatred for them or their club. I just think they are being incredibly stupid when it is in the public domain what they knew and all the statement does is put the spotlight on them. If it was possible for them to compound the error and stupidity then they have done so.

    Anyway, there is a match on soon 🙂

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  11. Stuart79
    so what about the other charges and the 2 gulty plees if ya trying to score points for yaself

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  12. SAFC had the texts where he said he wanted to get her jeans off and that he would like to see her without her bikini. The mind boggles as to how they didn’t sack him.

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  13. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<< will be happy with a point will be over the moon if we can get 3

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  14. Stuart: what is the word where you avoid the real issue, obfuscation? They are just bullsh!tting in legalese as far as I can tell.

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  15. Eric Sykes
    hes lied to them thats why they did not sack him right off the bat in my opinion

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  16. Eric – I guess if and its a big IF they didn’t know what he had done and he denied it to them as well they were always going to ‘stick by him’ but if they were told what he had done then that’s a different story.

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  17. They definitely avoided the main point, otherwise they would have said “they weren’t told what he had done.” Although I’m staggered Johnson would admit it to them also if he was going to please guilty. Unless he hadn’t had his legal advice by then.

    Either way it’s a mess, he has thrown his career away for as you say, Eric a few minutes of ‘pleasure’ and I’m sure it’s been difficult for the victim too since it went into the media limelight.

    I would imagine there’ll be solicitors falling over themselves to offer their services to the girl. I’m sure there’ll be a civil suit to follow.

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  18. TAE: they had the police statements and the texts which basically admitted guilt. It was a matter of what degree of guilt – kissing with tongues and feeling up a minor or other more problematic acts. They just found him guilty of “penetrating digitally”.

    I really think Sunderland made a massive mistake here.

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  19. Have I seen this right? Townsend out injured now? Jesus man! How bad are our medical team and what the hell is this bleeding fitness coach/expert doing?!

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  20. Eric Sykes
    i did not know that they had them,if thats the case they should be ashamed of themselfs

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  21. Just seven the line up and my low confidence in a result has just got lower , Gouffran starts 😯

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  22. Goufrran, Aarons or Perez? Of course, Steve, you pick the player who hasn’t started a game for a couple of months.

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  23. This Goofy selection better work or else Steve will be slated. We have Perez who Steve said a couple of months ago was building a “telepathic” understanding with Mitro. Then there’s Aarons and Saivet has played as a winger.

    I hope Steve know what he is doing because this could go spectacularly badly for him. Remember when he picked Goofy as a defensive mid against Man City 🙂

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  24. Nobody is undroppable he said yesterday. So what does he do? He drops the youngest two players – Aarons and Perez!

    No bottle and the players have no respect for the coach.

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  25. Do you think he is trying to rile up the fans? The only possible selection I could see as more controversial would be Aarons at left back. Forget that, he could play Darlow 🙂

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  26. I think I have sussed it. If a player goes down injured Schteve puts up all of those available and throws at dart at a board. And I don’t even mind Gouffran that much. He puts a shift in so I guess that is Schteve’s reasoning.

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  27. This striker we brought in to sober our goalscoring crisis has been worth it hasn’t he? Has he played yet?

    We have the worst scoring record in the country so what’s logical thing to do for McClaren? Leave Aarons, Perez and Doumbia on the bench… 🙁

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  28. Well not been on the blog for a while due to travel in China, I come back and all is completely different! 😯 😯

    Gutted to see Gouffran start… WTF? Why did we buy Saivet? Guy hasn’t started a match yet? Why not Perez? Cannot see this one ending well

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  29. We have spent the 4th most days at the top of the PL since it started. How have we got where we are now?

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  30. Stoke (4-2-3-1): Butland; Bardsley, Cameron, Wollscheid, Pieters; Whelan, Imbula; Shaqiri, Afellay, Arnautovic; Walters.

    Subs: Haugaard (gk), Muniesa, Ireland, Joselu, Diouf, Crouch, Bojan.
    Share article

    Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Elliot; Janmaat, Taylor, Lascelles, Dummett; Colback, Shelvey; Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Gouffran; Mitrovic.

    Subs: Darlow (gk), Sterry, Saivet, Aarons, Perez, Riviere, Doumbia.

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  31. Bloody Goofy,give Perez a new contract then stick him on the bench good move,buy Saivet stick him on the bench another good move,I give up ffs

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  32. for what Ive seen of Saviet he looks decent defensively as well as offensively. maybe he wasnt a SM buy 😕

    Goofran? adds legs for the defence, he can get back..and thats about it…

    2-0 stoke

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  33. It is sort of bizarre. It is like Schteve is just asking to be kicked in the nuts if it all goes wrong.

    I think Gouffran has played about 100 minutes this season. Same with Lascelles and that is his total PL experience. He could have shuffled the pack and put Dummett at centre-back and Colback at left back.

    We better at least get a draw cos Schteve is asking for trouble here.

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  34. Eric, what would we know 🙄

    Taylor and Dummett with Colback at left back with Saviet in the middle would be my choice.

    But NO! SM knows best, after all this is the ex England manager that players Aarons at left back

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  35. No DeJong ,Cisse, Tiote or Anita on the bench their days must surely be numbered at the toon.

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  36. Especially away from home McLaren sets us up to not lose. Except we’re not good enough defensively to play like that. Why wait until there are 7 minutes left to put Doumbia and Perez on McLaren? Are you a complete idiot? We needed goals. Mitrovic was not providing them. It’s simple Steve but you are clueless.

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  37. We might as well have comatose accident victims as manager and managing director. As it stands I have no faith in them to save us from relegation. Complete failures.

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  38. I think McClaren grin’s like that to make the fan’s feel better after a defeat 😈 I remember a Middlesbrough fan throwing his season ticket at him once, it might happen here if Sunderland nail us.

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  39. Found out how to send comments from an iPad. Just tap below “Website” and the Post Comment box will appear. It is in fact there all the time but is so faint that it doesn’t show up.

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