Stoke vs Wolves

An all-Midlands meeting takes place at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers continue their summer preparations in a pre-season friendly.

The Potters overcame Crewe Alexandra 2-1 in midweek for their first exhibition win of the summer, while the Old Gold are yet to triumph in this preparatory period.

Match preview

Adjusting to life without two former critical cogs in Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha, Wolves are yet to give their supporters something to shout about this summer, failing to prevail in either of their opening two friendlies during a Portugal training camp.

Following a 2-1 defeat to Santa Clara in Algarve – where a welcome goal from injury-plagued striker Sasa Kalajdzic made no difference to the scoreline – Wolves settled for a stalemate against newly-promoted Burnley, as two namesakes found the back of the net.

Jorgen Strand Larsen propelled Wolves into the lead before Jacob Bruun Larsen – no relation – levelled matters for the Clarets, thus leaving Pereira’s men still searching for their first victory since the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Saturday’s trip to Stoke actually represents Wolves’ final pre-season engagement against a fellow English club; the Old Gold take on Ligue 1 side Lens at the end of the month, before battling Girona and Celta Vigo in the first two weeks of August.

Building up to a daunting Premier League opener with Manchester City on August 16, Wolves recently confirmed the signing of Colombian attacker Jhon Arias from Brazilian outfit Fluminense, as the 27-year-old joins Fer Lopez in the Old Gold’s ranks.

As Wolves aim to make it third time lucky in pre-season friendlies this weekend, the fourth time was the charm for hosts Stoke City when they pitted their wits against Crewe Alexandra in midweek.

The Potters had been edged out 1-0 by Shrewsbury Town, been beaten 3-1 by Brighton & Hove Albion and been slaughtered 5-0 by Liverpool in their first three games of the summer, and another miserable afternoon was briefly on the cards when Josh March’s penalty put Crewe ahead.

However, new arrival Sorba Thomas inspired a terrific turnaround for Mark Robins‘s men, firstly setting up Bosun Lawal before making the net ripple himself in a 2-1 comeback triumph at the Mornflake Stadium.

With momentum on their side, the Potters now prepare for their penultimate pre-season encounter, which precedes a final warm-up match against Burnley on August 2 and their Championship opener versus Derby County seven days later.

Not since 2012 have Stoke and Wolves contested a league match, but the two Midlands outfits most recently locked horns in the 2020-21 EFL Cup second round, where the Potters prevailed 1-0 at an empty Molineux.

Stoke City friendlies form:

Wolverhampton Wanderers friendlies form:

Arias’s highly-anticipated transfer to Molineux has now gone through, but after helping Fluminense reach the Club World Cup semi-finals, he will surely be given more time off before being integrated into the squad.

Instead, fellow new signing Lopez could retain his spot alongside Marshall Munetsi in support of Strand Larsen, although Kalajdzic is banging on the door as he builds his fitness back up following a third ACL tear in five years.

Enso Gonzalez and Yerson Mosquera are also training again after their own severe knee problems, but Leon Chiwone is still on the road to recovery from his devastating cruciate ligament injury.

On Stoke’s end, the Potters confirmed on Wednesday that they had re-signed Tottenham Hotspur defender Ashley Phillips on loan, and a second unofficial debut could await the 20-year-old this weekend.

Fellow Premier League loanee Divin Mubama – owned by Manchester City – is poised to lead the line again, but ex-West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell was not involved in the recent win over Crewe.

The hosts also recently banked a reported €5m (£4.3m) through the sale of Wouter Burger, who is now on the books at Hoffenheim.

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Bonham; Tchamadeu, Wilmot, Lawal, Bocat; Baker, Pearson, Seko; Manhoef, Mubama, Thomas 

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Johnstone; Doherty, Agbadou, Toti; Hoever, Andre, Gomes, Bellegarde; Lopez, Munetsi; Larsen

We say: Stoke City 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves are yet to find their attacking feet in pre-season, but Stoke have similarly struggled to keep the back door shut and are working with significantly less rest.

As a result, we have faith in the visitors’ quality to shine through as Pereira’s men get off the mark in pre-season at the third attempt.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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