Stoke vs Everton preview: Potters will want to halt recent slide

A look ahead to the Premier League fixture at the Britannia Stadium

Stoke manager Mark Hughes (GETTY IMAGES)

It’s a big game for…

Gianelli Imbula: The French midfielder signed from Porto on deadline day in a club-record £18.3million. Tuesday’s defeat at Old Trafford came too soon for the promising 23-year-old, but the home clash with Everton should see him make his debut.

Best stat…

5: Everton have beaten Stoke just five times since the Potters gained promotion to the Premier League. The two have played 15 times, and Everton haven’t beaten Saturday’s opponents since November 2013.

Remember when…

The Potters stole a last gasp win over Everton in December? In a topsy-turvy clash, the Blues went behind twice, before taking the lead, and eventually losing to an injury-time penalty by Marko Arnautovic. Xherdan Shaqiri also scored an outrageous lob.

Player to watch…

Xherdan Shaqiri: Shaqiri has not scored since the clash at Goodison park, but the Swiss international has a real propensity to cause chaos in opposition defences. He has made a huge impact since signing from Inter Milan in the summer, and will no doubt help push Stoke further up the table.

Past three-meetings…

Everton 3 (Lukaku 2, Deulofeu) Stoke 4 (Shaqiri 2, Joselu, Arnautovic), Premier League, December 2015

Stoke 2 (Moses, Diouf) Everton 0, Premier League, March 2015

Everton 0 Stoke 1 (Bojan pen), Premier League, December 2014

Form guide…

Stoke: WDLWLL

Everton: DDLLWW

Vital information…

KICK-OFF TIME: 3pm Saturday

TV: Highlights on BBC1