Both looking to bounce back from controversial away defeats in midweek, Plymouth Argyle and Stoke City will clash at Home Park in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Pilgrims were unable to earn any points from a hard-fought contest with Coventry City, while the Potters helped Queens Park Rangers to a rare success at Loftus Road.

Match preview

Plymouth Argyle have now gone nine away matches without a victory at the beginning of the Championship term following a narrow 1-0 loss at the Coventry Building Society Arena against Mark Robins's Coventry on Tuesday night, with a controversial moment deciding the outcome of the match.

The visitors' attacking talent such as Morgan Whittaker and Bali Mumba failed to get going in the East Midlands, and although a draw would have arguably been a fair result, Sky Blues attacker Haji Wright netted late in the second period to steal the points, but the ball appeared to have gone out of play in the build-up.

Nevertheless, the Green Army have been unable to impress away from their Devonshire base this term, collecting just three points in nine away matches in the second tier, with a daunting trip to Enzo Maresca's Leicester City representing Argyle's next outing on December 9.

Before an outing to the King Power Stadium, Steven Schumacher's men return to Home Park to face the Potters this weekend, and after earning 16 points from nine matches in front of their own supporters, the hosts will be confident of another impressive result at the Theatre of Greens this time around.

Saturday could be a very proud day for Plymouth's academy as a pair of graduates approach first-team milestones, with goalkeeper Michael Cooper and midfielder Adam Randell in line to make their 150th and 100th appearances for the club respectively should they feature at Home Park.

Following a shock 3-0 loss at the bet365 Stadium to Blackburn Rovers last weekend, Stoke City supporters were sentenced to another painful watch in West London on Tuesday night, when Alex Neil's men came out on the losing side of a six-goal thriller with Marti Cifuentes's QPR.

The hosts at Loftus Road were without a home maximum in 2023-24, and that statistic looked set to be preserved when goals from Ryan Mmaee and Wouter Burger had the Potters ahead after 59 minutes, but late strikes from Lyndon Dykes, Ben Pearson and Chris Willock sealed the R's third win of the season.

After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time since early October, Stoke currently occupy 17th in the Championship standings having earned 21 points from 18 matches, with sixth-placed Hull City nine points ahead, although the Staffordshire club have an eight-point buffer over the relegation places.

With a massive overhaul of the playing squad in the summer, it would be fair to say that manager Neil is still working out the makeup of his best XI, and although new signings Andre Vidigal and Mehdi Leris have impressed at points, their inconsistency has resulted in lots of changes to the side on a weekly basis.

Highlighting the fortunes of Plymouth and Stoke in recent history, the two sides' last meeting was a second-tier contest during the 2007-08 campaign, when strikes either side of the half-time interval from Richard Cresswell and iconic centre-back Ryan Shawcross for the Potters forced a share of the spoils at Home Park.

Team News

Plymouth are set to welcome back striker Ryan Hardie to the matchday squad on Saturday afternoon, with the 26-year-old taking part in first-team training this week following a hamstring injury which has seen him miss the last four games.

With Hardie not ready to start a match just yet, New Zealand international Ben Waine should retain his spot leading the hosts' forward line this weekend.

Mustapha Bundu is another attacking option who could replace Hardie in the Pilgrims' XI, however Schumacher is taking the slow approach with the youngster as he has only recently returned from a hamstring strain.

Mickel Miller is likely to feature in the 18-man squad against the Potters after recovering from a groin injury which left him sidelined for the matches against Sunderland and Coventry.

Stoke will be without the services of first-choice left-back Enda Stevens on Saturday, with the former Sheffield United man being sent off in the second half at Loftus Road last time out.

Referee James Linington was criticised by Potters boss Neil for handing out too many cautions on Tuesday night, with both Burger and Daniel Johnson suspended for the Plymouth clash due to yellow card accumulation.

The visitors could make a number of changes to their XI following the loss at QPR, meaning the likes of Ki-Jana Hoever and former Aston Villa forward Wesley might be handed starting berths.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Kesler-Hayden, Pleguezuelo, Gibson, Edwards; Cundle, Houghton, Azaz; Whittaker, Mumba, Bundu

Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bonham; Hoever, McNally, Rose, Gooch; Laurent, Pearson, Campbell, Bae, Vidigal; Mmaee

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Stoke City

Plymouth are continuing to lean on their home form significantly to keep them out of trouble in the Championship, and we are expecting another strong performance from the Pilgrims at Home Park this weekend.

Stoke were hit with questionable refereeing decisions and a load of suspensions to key players at QPR last time out, meaning we cannot envisage the Potters earning coming out on top in Devon.


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