Saints have minimal injury concerns as they go to the Potteries, but Stoke City is in a precarious situation as up to 8 players could miss the match at the bet365 stadium. Will this help the home team and motivate them?
The Stoke Sentinel reports that there may be 8 players absent from Stoke’s squad as they prepare to play Southampton tonight evening due to injuries.
Lynden Gooch, their backup left back, was forced off at halftime last weekend with a hamstring issue and is questionable, and center back Michael Rose also left the field during the second half with what appeared to be an ankle injury. These injuries affect all areas of the field. In defense, Enda Stevens is likely to miss out again with a calf injury.
The Stoke Sentinel has predicted that the Potters back line would have an average age of 22 tonight evening. Saints fans complain about Saints’ inexperience in the back four.
Andre Vidigal, Ryan Mmaee, and Tyrese Campbell, three attackers for Stoke who were absent for the match against Southampton at the weekend, are all anticipated to be absent once more due to hamstring injuries, according to manager Alex Neil.
Wouter Burger, who was only fit enough to sit on the bench in Saturday’s victory over Bristol City, did manage 15 minutes, but it will be a late call on the level of his fitness for this game. Emre Tezgel and Lewis Baker are longer-term absences, bringing the total to 8 players who appear to be unavailable for the squad.
Saints supporters hope that their squad may benefit from Stoke’s injury troubles, but the truth is that sometimes teams that are dealing with injuries find an extra piece of grit and drive.
Leave a Reply