Stoke City make the trip to the south coast to face Southampton in their final game of the campaign with the hope of securing their first win in ten league games.
With the Potters season petering out, Mark Hughes’s side will finish in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 2012/13 – regardless of the result on Sunday – and as a result a few changes are expected for Sunday’s trip to St Mary’s Stadium.
Here is how Stoke City could lineup on Sunday:
Goalkeeper
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Butland1
Despite conceding eight goals in his four games since his return from a long-term injury, ?Jack Butland will start on Sunday.
Defence
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Johnson8
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Shawcross17
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Martins Indi15
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Pieters3
?Consistency in defence is key in the league and the Potters experienced back four have played 28 times together this season – recording eight wins and 11 loses in that time – and that is not expected to change when the Potters lineup against the Saints at St Mary’s on Sunday.
Midfield
?With Marko Arnautovic set to miss the clash, Xherdan Shaqiri is likely to move further up the field allowing Joe Allen to take a more central role alongside Geoff Cameron and Glenn Whelan.
This midfield combination will be instrumental in breaking up the Saints play and supplying the Potters attacking trio with quality deliveries to capitalise on the added height in the forward line.
Forwards
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Berahino9
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Crouch25
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Shaqiri22
With goals hard to come by for Stoke – they sit fifth lowest in the league with 40 – Hughes is likely to make alterations to the side who started against Arsenal with Peter Crouch likely to feature from the start, after scoring his side’s only goal against the Gunners, as he poses an aerial threat against the Saints defence.
Arnautovic is expected to miss the trip to Southampton after suffering a suspected fracture in his right arm against the Gunners.
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