Stoke City vs Middlesbrough
English Premier League
Date: Saturday, 4th March 2017
Kick off at 15:00 UK/ 16:00 CET
Venue: Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent.
Xherdan Shaqiri is a doubt for Stoke's home clash with Middlesbrough on Saturday, but Saido Berahino could be in line for his first start.
Switzerland international Shaqiri only returned to training on Friday after missing the last four games due to a calf problem.
While Shaqiri is unlikely to be involved, January signing Berahino could make the starting XI as Stoke look to respond from their 4-0 defeat at Tottenham last weekend, which manager Mark Hughes labelled as "unacceptable".
"We let ourselves down last week," said Hughes on Friday. "When we do disappoint we tend to bounce back quickly. We have to do that again."
toke manager Mark Hughes says Wilfried Bony will have to wait for his chance to get back in the starting XI
Boro have not won in the Premier League since December 17 and are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
They have also struggled for goals lately, failing to score in their last three league matches.
"With the performances we have had in the games we have played, we could have 32 points on the table," said Boro boss Aitor Karanka. "But the reality is that we have 22."
Stoke City vs Middlesbrough: Head to Head Statistics
The Potters and Boro have played a total of 59 games in the past and Boro have won more games than the Potters.
Stoke City have won 20 games against Boro, drawn 13 and lost 26 times to Boro in their previous outings.
Most of Stoke City’s wins have be at Bet365 Stadium, tgey have 17 wins on the ground, drawn 7 and lost only 5.
The reverse of this game was a stalemate as the two teams shared the spoils in a 1-1 scoreline.
Stoke City vs Middlesbrough: Prediction
None of the two sides are seen as favourites in this game, they are in similar run of form recently. The game could go either way but we don’t expect much goals in the game as the two teams have had little action at both ends of the pitch.
We are expecting a lone goal to decide the game and it will likely be from the home team.
Stoke City vs Middlesbrough: Bet Tips
Both teams to score No at 1.64
Under 2.5 goals at 1.52
