EPL: Stoke v West Brom preview
Stoke v West Brom preview
West Brom travel to Stoke on Saturday looking for their first Premier League win since August - against another side in freefall.
After opening with two 1-0 wins at the start of the season, West Brom's 1-1 draw with Stoke in the reverse fixture at the end of August saw them drop their first points of the season, and the Baggies have not won a Premier League game since.
That desperate run of form was enough to cost Tony Pulis his job, but his replacement Alan Pardew is yet to oversee an improvement in fortunes.
Mark Hughes responds to reports he will be sacked if Stoke lose to West Brom this weekend
His four games in charge have garnered two points and seen the club fall to second bottom in the table.
However, Saturday's visitors are enduring an equally tough time, with Stoke losing five of their last six to leave Mark Hughes under pressure, although he insists that defeat, which would leave City in the bottom three, would not mean he gets the sack.
"The media will set timelines but that's not what is happening in the corridors here in my view," he said on Friday.
Team news
Stoke will be without Bruno Martins Indi (groin) once again when they host West Brom on Saturday, while fellow defenders Kurt Zouma (hamstring) and Erik Pieters are major doubts.
There are also question marks over Charlie Adam, who has been nursing a hip problem. Glen Johnson (knee) has been training and could be back involved.
Jese Rodriguez has returned after spending time in Gran Canaria with his ill son but it looks unlikely he will feature on Saturday, with boss Mark Hughes saying the forward will "take a little bit of time to get back up to speed".
Alan Pardew has received a welcome boost with the news that both Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips are in contention to play after being unavailable for any of his four games in charge.
James Morrisson (Achilles) and Craig Dawson (knee) will miss out.
That desperate run of form was enough to cost Tony Pulis his job, but his replacement Alan Pardew is yet to oversee an improvement in fortunes.
Mark Hughes responds to reports he will be sacked if Stoke lose to West Brom this weekend
His four games in charge have garnered two points and seen the club fall to second bottom in the table.
However, Saturday's visitors are enduring an equally tough time, with Stoke losing five of their last six to leave Mark Hughes under pressure, although he insists that defeat, which would leave City in the bottom three, would not mean he gets the sack.
"The media will set timelines but that's not what is happening in the corridors here in my view," he said on Friday.
Team news
Stoke will be without Bruno Martins Indi (groin) once again when they host West Brom on Saturday, while fellow defenders Kurt Zouma (hamstring) and Erik Pieters are major doubts.
There are also question marks over Charlie Adam, who has been nursing a hip problem. Glen Johnson (knee) has been training and could be back involved.
Jese Rodriguez has returned after spending time in Gran Canaria with his ill son but it looks unlikely he will feature on Saturday, with boss Mark Hughes saying the forward will "take a little bit of time to get back up to speed".
Alan Pardew has received a welcome boost with the news that both Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips are in contention to play after being unavailable for any of his four games in charge.
James Morrisson (Achilles) and Craig Dawson (knee) will miss out.