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Stoke City vs. Bristol City: Preview & Prediction

By Jeff Brantley

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Harry Souttar of Stoke City gestures during the Sky Bet Championship between Stoke City and Cardiff City at Bet365 Stadium on December 10, 2022 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Harry Souttar of Stoke City gestures during the Sky Bet Championship between Stoke City and Cardiff City at Bet365 Stadium on December 10, 2022 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) /
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How will Stoke City line up against Bristol City?

Stoke City Predicted Formation: 4-2-3-1

Coming out of the World Cup break, Stoke City lined up in a 4-2-3-1 against Cardiff City — Although Stoke City have lined up with a back four before this season, it appears that a back four could be a permanent move (depending on opponent match-to-match) for The Potters.

So why switch to a back four now at least even semi-permanently? The difference is center-back Harry Souttar being back with the club. With the addition of Souttar from his knee injury last November, The Potters can now afford to play with two center-backs in a back four instead of three in a back three.

Another plus of playing in a 4-2-3-1 for Stoke City, is they can also play with one striker up top and three forwards behind their number 9. All of this should equal defensive stability, but also give The Potters enough attacking quality to score goals.

Starting XI Prediction: Bonham – Tymon – Souttar – Wilmot – Clarke – Baker- Thompson – Smallbone – Campbell – Fosu – Delap

Stoke City on Saturday could line up similarly to what they did last Saturday against Cardiff City. The only changes we might see to Stoke City’s starting XI could be if Dwight Gayle, Morgan Fox, or Dujon sterling return from injury.

Stoke City vs. Bristol City Prediction:

Going into Saturday’s match Stoke City sit at 19th on the table with 26 points. This comes after The Potters drew in their only match since the World Cup break last week against Cardiff City.

Fast forward to this week and Stoke City will be hoping to grab all three points against Bristol City, and move up the table further. So will The Potters get the job done on the road this Saturday? Well, that all depends on how consistent Stoke City can play.

For the majority of this season, Stoke City have had issues playing consistently for a full 90 minutes. One minute The Potters will look like one of the best teams in the Championship. And the next, they’ll look like one of the worst.

So along with some of the keys to the match on Saturday, this weekend’s result will come down to how The Potters play for the full 90 minutes. If Stoke City play consistently, three points could be on the menu. If not though, Stoke City could be looking at walking away with no points at all on Saturday.

Because Stoke City are coming off of an up and down performance though last week, we’ll say that The Potters preached consistency in training all week and find it on the pitch this weekend.

Final Prediction:

Stoke City grab all three points on the road with a 2-1 win.