Stoke & Staffordshire

Latest Updates

  1. Pick of the stats: Stoke City v Blackburn Roverspublished at 09:56 BST

    Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers club badgesImage source, Opta

    Blackburn Rovers will look to pull further clear of the Championship relegation places when the visit Stoke City on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 15:00 BST).

    Michael O'Neill's side were just one point above the drop zone after a 1-0 defeat to relegation rivals Oxford on 11 March but are unbeaten in the four games since (W2 D2) and are now six points ahead of Leicester in 22nd.

    The Potters - who are 12 points behind the play-off spots and 13 clear of the drop - are on course for a mid-table finish.

    • None of Stoke's previous 15 home league games against Blackburn have finished level, with the Potters winning nine and losing six.

    • Blackburn have alternated between victory (3) and defeat (3) in their past six away league games against Stoke, losing 1-0 in this exact fixture last season.

    • Stoke have won their past two home league games – the Potters haven't won three on the bounce at home since April/August 2024, while in the same season they last did so in August/September 2021 under current Blackburn boss Michael O'Neill.

    • Blackburn Rovers have kept a clean sheet in their previous three league games, last going four without conceding in November/December 2024 (a run of five).

    • Stoke City's Sorba Thomas is the only player with both 10 goals and 10 assists in the Championship this season. The last player to achieve that in a league season (excl. play-offs) under manager Mark Robins was current Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres in 2022-23 at Coventry (21 goals, 10 assists).

  2. Lightweight Stoke outmuscled by Derbypublished at 10:03 BST 7 April

    Mark Elliott
    BBC Radio Stoke’s Stoke City commentator

    Lamine Cisse, in a purple Stoke City away kit, competes for the ball with David Ozoh, wearing a white Derby County home kit, during their matchImage source, Getty Images

    Stoke were outmuscled at Derby in a way that highlighted the gap in physicality between the Potters and most of the teams chasing promotion.

    Not every team in the Championship needs to be as direct as Derby but no team can afford to be as lightweight and lacking in power and athleticism as Stoke were.

    It's not the first time over the past two seasons that Stoke have been bullied to defeat.

    They put out a young team, particularly defensively and couldn't impose themselves physically at either end of the pitch.

    After the game, the manager Mark Robins questioned his team's "fight", which suggests that he's ready to move on from some players this summer.

    When they turn to the transfer market in a few weeks, adding power and physicality - particularly to the spine of the team - has to be a priority.