Stoke City welcome Tottenham to The Britannia Stadium tomorrow with Mark Hughes side hoping to equal their highest points tally in The Premier League.
A win against Spurs tomorrow will give Stoke 47 points, the total they amassed back in the 2009/10 season, under the watchful eye of Tony Pulis. They could also leap frog Newcastle United (Who play Arsenal on Monday) into 9th position with a win here.
Tottenham themselves are in the middle of a three match unbeaten run and would love for this to continue at a ground that doesn't hold a lot of good memories for them. A win tomorrow though would take them a step closer to Europa League football for the third consecutive year.
Team news
Stoke will be without Erik Pieters after his fluke goal two weeks ago, the Dutchman was taken ill in the first half of last week's game against Cardiff and it seems he may not have fully recovered, so Marc Muniesa could deputise. Stoke could also be boosted by the return of Oussama Assaidi after he has come off the bench and made an impact in recent games.
Spurs will see Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen made the subject of late fitness tests to see if they can be included, whilst Etienne Capoue is likely to miss out with an ankle injury that has kept him on the sidelines for two months.
Stats
All five Barclays Premier League meetings between these sides in Stoke have ended 2-1, with the Potters winning two and losing three.
Tottenham have won five and lost just one of their last eight Barclays Premier League meetings with the Potters.
Tim Sherwood has the best win percentage of any Tottenham manager in the Premier League.
Mark Hughes’ Stoke have picked up four red cards this season; Hughes has seen his various teams collect 40 red cards in Premier League history.
Prediction
Stoke have a lot riding on this game, but could still be on course for their highest ever finish and points tally with games against Fulham and West Brom still to come.
Spurs are fighting for European qualification and a win against them in this frame of mind would be just as big as any for Stoke this season. I think Stoke could take this one, they have only lost twice at The Britannia Stadium this season and Spurs don't look strong enough to over come them.
Stoke City 2-1 Tottenham
Source: DSG
