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Stoke City vs Norwich Preview: 3 key players to watch

By Matt Bernstein

ROTHERHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Nick Powell of Stoke City celebrates after he scores his sides third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Rotherham United and Stoke City at AESSEAL New York Stadium on January 19, 2021 in Rotherham, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
ROTHERHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Nick Powell of Stoke City celebrates after he scores his sides third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Rotherham United and Stoke City at AESSEAL New York Stadium on January 19, 2021 in Rotherham, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /
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Nathan Collins
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Nathan Collins of Stoke City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Coventry City and Stoke City at St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium on December 26, 2020 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images) /

Keeping Nathan Collins has to be such a relief for Stoke City fans. The young defender was a target for a number of Premier League sides in January, though it looked like their bids never came particularly close in the end. Keeping Collins, along with signing Harry Souttar is great news for Stoke and hopefully the two will be a fixture for years to come.

Nathan Collins getting forward

The most impressive aspect of Nathan’s Collins’ form of late has been his ability to get forward. Not sure how the usual center-back does it, but he seems to just force himself into dangerous areas and has the ability to deliver balls right across goal. Last week his interplay with Jack Clarke looked fantastic. Stoke fans should hope that they keep up this momentum and continue to create. With Steven Fletcher and Nick Powell also attacking, we might be able to see most of Stoke’s offense coming down the right side with Clarke and Collins feeding some quality players in front of goal.

On the defensive side, Collins will look to continue to assert dominance. If Emi Buendia lines up on the right side, expect this to be a key matchup. It looks like Stoke will continue to use four at the back with Collins, Chester, Souttar, and Fox which hopefully will solidify the back end which was exploited in their earlier match. It’s easy to forget that Collins is not a natural right-back as he has never really looked out of place this season. Stoke will need another top quality performance from the young defender if they want to get back in the win column on Saturday.

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