After slumping to a woeful 4-0 League Cup defeat at Portsmouth last night, the Stoke players and fans can turn their attention back to this season’s number one priority, the Premier League. Though the pre-season goal for the Potters was once again top flight survival, Tony Pulis’s side have made a bright start, and sit in ninth place with fifteen points to their name after the opening ten fixtures, and the more optimistic Stoke fans are daring to let thoughts of a top-half finish or even European qualification take their imagination.

Long-term solidarity is still the aim though, and will come through continuing to perform at home. After winning ten of our nineteen Premier League home games in our debut season, the signs are good that we will retain the Britannia Stadium fortress this term, and have an excellent chance to pick up a further three points on Saturday when our newly promoted local rivals Wolves make the short trip north through Staffordshire to the Potteries.

Mick McCarthy’s men have made a respectable start to life back at the top, and currently lie one place clear of the relegation zone, but with tough fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal approaching, it will be hard for them to keep up their heads above water, making a result on Saturday a must for them. They have picked up just four points on the road all season though, and haven’t won away from Molineux in any competition since August, meaning Stoke go into the game firm favourites. With the added spice of the derby atmosphere, anything could happen though, which should make for an exciting match.

For me, Wolves are there for the taking defensively. They have kepy only one clean sheet in ten league games this season, and with our strikers firing on all cylinders, we should be able to get the better of them in their half. With s solid showing from our defence, I’m confident we can do enough to earn a popular victory.

After Pulis chose to leave all the players due to start against Wolves at home last night, it’s clear that he intends to name a largely unchanged Stoke side from the one that memorably won at Tottenham last week, with the only probable change being in goal, with Thomas Sorensen, who pulled out of the game at White Hart Lane through illness twenty minutes before kick off, likely to regain his regular place in the side ahead of Steve Simonsen.

Pulis has hinted that Turkish forward Tuncay is to see more regular first team action soon, but it it likely that he will have to be content with a place on the bench once again, with James Beattie and Ricardo Fuller set to start up front. Joining Tuncay will most likely be Liam Lawrence and the matchwinner against Spurs, Glenn Whelan, neither of whom can force themselves into the starting line-up. Mali striker Mamady Sidibe, who last night played his first first competitive football in seven months after recovering from a knee ligament injury, should also be on the bench, ready to be deployed as a meaty impact substitute if necessary.

On-loan Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne may miss the game for the visitors with a virus, so club captain Jody Craddock, who spent a loan spell with Stoke two years ago could play. Craddock has recently spoken about his happiness that he did not choose to join the Potters on a permanent basis; with Abdoulaye Faye and Ryan Shawcross in our ranks, the feeling is more than mutual.

Two former Stoke players, midfielder Karl Henry and forward Chris Iwelumo, could join him in the Wolves side, but defenders Kevin Foley and Stephen Ward and midfielder David Jones are all definitely ruled out with knee injuries.

Key Battles:

Ricardo Fuller v George Elokobi
When the two clubs last met, in February 2008, Stoke striker Fuller ran the length of the pitch with the ball to score his side’s fourth in a memorable 4-2 away win. He’ll hope to make a similar impact on Saturday, his 30th birthday. In recent weeks he’s been at his most effective running down the right wing, so it’s likely much of the responsibility for stopping him creating chances for himself and his teammates will fall to Wolves’s huge Cameroonian left back Elokobi, who has recently returned to the side after a lengthy spell out injured.

Rory Delap v Wayne Hennessey
In Stoke’s last home game, against West Ham, Delap’s famous long throws were at their very dangerous best, causing England ‘keeper Rob Green numerous problems. It will be interesting to see how well his Wales counterpart, Wolves stopper Hennessey copes with the threat.

Danny Collins v Matt Jarvis
Two years ago, Pulis tried to sign pacy winger Jarvis from Gillingham, but he ended up going to Wolves. Stoke defender Collins, who is steadily establishing himself as a reliable member of the back four, will be keen to keep him quiet and show the Britannia Stadium faithful that they’re not missing much.

Wolves’s Star Man: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

Wolves struggled for goals in the early weeks of this season, and it’s probably no co-incidence that for much of that time, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was out injured. The 23 year-old striker has earned a reputation as a fearsome goalscorer at Championship level, and has set about showing he can do the business at Premier League level, and netted his first top flight goal, from the penalty spot against Aston Villa, last week. Born in Cambridge, as a schoolboy he played for the Cambridge United academy, but moved to Manchester United on scholar terms when they came in for him. He played his first game for the club in a League Cup tie against Crewe in October 2004, but never represented them in the Premier League. He did, however, enjoy at successful loan sell at their feeder club, Royal Antwerp, in 2006, where he netted four times in nine appearances. Deemed not good enough to make the grade at Old Trafford, he was allowed to join Championship Plymouth in the summer of 2006 for an initial £200,000, where he impressed hugely, netting 23 goals in 74 matches for the club, his second last coming in a 2-2 draw against Stoke at Home Park in December 2007 before he made the £1.5 million to Wolves the next month. After scoring on his debut he has never looked back, netting twelve more times during the 2007/08 season, and 23 the next year as Wolves were promoted, earning him the Championship golden boot award for top goalscorer for two years running. He played once for the England Under 21 side, and with 60 goals to his name already in a league career just three years old, he looks set to make a big impact this season and beyond.

My Prediction:

Stoke City 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers - I foresee a third straight league win for the Potters in an entertaining match, with goals coming from Fuller and Beattie for Stoke, and Ebanks-Blake for Wolves.

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