Stoke 1-2 Blues

Starting XI

Three changes. Emmanuel Longelo, Tahith Chong and Troy Deeney drop to the bench. Juninho Bacuna, Jordan Graham and Lukas Jutkiewicz take their places.

Game

A game lacking intensity amid a busy schedule and littered with mistakes on a wet, late Autumn afternoon in the Potteries.

The goals were a case of Blues doing what Stoke couldn't. After making a simple save from a Nick Powell header, John Ruddy also had to deny Lewis Baker's deflected effort after his errant pass let Tyrese Campbell move into the box. At the other end, Phil Jagielka miscontrolled and gave Scott Hogan and a 1 v 1 that he finished.

Jutkiewicz shot over on the turn while Josh Tymon's strike from the edge of the box caused little fuss for Ruddy. That last effort happened on 18 minutes. There was one shot for the rest of the half.

The second half started with Ruddy coming and failing to claim a cross and the keeper being helped by Jordan Graham's bravery (he took a whack from the boot of Auston Trusty as he tried to head clear) and Ben Wilmot's lack of accuracy. At the other end, Joe Bursik couldn't claim a deep Hannibal Mejbri corner and Harlee Dean headed home for his first of the season.

Stoke pulled one back when Baker fired home a penalty after Trusty fouled substitute Liam Delap. Dean forced a save from another set-piece before a Trusty error let Delap in, the youngster slipping as went to strike having done the hard work then Powell saw his effort deflected wide. Substitute Tarique Fosu nearly made the difference late on, seeing two shots saved by Ruddy.

Tactics

Both sides played 3-5-2 here. Thompson and Baker played more as a pair but Baker had more license to step forward meaning both sides looked a little more 3-1-4-2. Albeit, Stoke's wing-backs had much more aggressive starting positions.

Stoke built openly from the back, Morgan Fox and Wilmot pulling very wide with Jordon Thompson usually the option dropping in, whether that be centrally or out wide with the wing-backs high up the pitch and the front three in close proximity. They tended to build down the right more often with Baker and Will Smallbone close to Sterling, the latter making a lot of forward runs into the channel. When they did manage to beat the press, the front three were often close together and looking for the through ball. When Stoke managed to find space, they would look quickly for Campbell who was either running down the side of the defender on his left or cutting across Trusty in behind Dean.

To beat that, Blues did their usual. Jagielka was allowed to have possession with Thompson and Baker watched closely. Once the ball moved wide, Bacuna or Hannibal would chase this down and try and force either a central ball that Blues could close or a backwards pass that would trigger Hogan and Jutkiewicz to step up - as happened for the opener. However, there was a little bit of looseness to this with Bacuna and Hannibal often breaking off to close Jagielka or Bursik and Hogan or Jutkiewicz closing out wide. Bielik tried to press Thompson in the second phase although Thompson would occasionally pull wide out left which would enable them to move forward and create an overload.

When Blues did try and build in possession, it often came from the right where Bacuna/Hannibal, Bielik and Colin were often situated. However, there was a real sloppiness in possession that caused issues for Blues trying to create at all.

Both sides played longer balls down the same flank. Blues looked to target Ben Wilmot with Jutkiewicz dominating that one. At the other end, Stoke targeted Blues' left with Trusty often up against Powell. A more even duel, it's fair to say.

Changes. Stoke made a triple substitution on the hour. Delap and Jacob Brown paired up top with Powell dropping into the hole.

Blues brought on James for Hogan late on. Chong stepped into the attack with James and Bellingham either side of Bielik.

Players

We have to talk about Harlee Dean. I've referenced him in pretty much every game since he returned but he was absolutely outstanding again yesterday, the one player that didn't put a foot wrong in a Blues shirt on an afternoon where neither side were at their best. Absolutely delighted he got what proved to be the winner. His redemption arc has happened quicker than many expected.

Elsewhere, Hogan looked sharp despite the run of fixtures. Dion Sanderson was solid. Graham and Jutkiewicz did their jobs for the team but definitely lacked sharpness in their play, understandable given they haven't played much recently.

For Stoke, Baker was good. Has a nasty side to him which made his duel with Hannibal fun. Campbell looks sharp but there was a timing issue with his runs - he was caught offside a number of times. Tarique Fosu certainly made an impact from the bench.

Anything else?

The players again pushed players to the front as they celebrated with the away supporters post-match. This time, it was Deeney pushing the medical staff to the front to gain applause, noteworthy given we've been able to field the same 18 for a number of games now, a testament to their work.

Wrapping it up...

This wasn't a great football match and probably symptomatic of the Championship schedule at present. It would be a shame if we had games to suffer on Tuesday and Friday as well...

I wasn't unimpressed by Stoke. I could see what Alex Neil wanted from his side and I don't believe they are work shy. The difference here was confidence and an understanding of exactly what is expected from the players, Blues having had all of pre-season to prepare unlike the hosts.

Blues won the majority of their battles. They were dominant aerially. They were ruthless when opportunities presented themselves. They knew when to press, what triggered the press and were able to grind out the result despite not being at their best.

Heading into Tuesday, Eustace has to work out how to replace Kristian Bielik, who received his fifth yellow card of the season. I would expect Jordan James to step into that role. Deeney, Chong and Longelo should return, likely in place of Graham, Jutkiewicz and one other. Most likely Hannibal, who has started all three matches. It could also be Maxime Colin, with Bacuna shifting to right wing-back.