Stoke vs Southampton preview: Potters closing in on top half finish in the Premier League

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

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It’s a big game for…

SHANE LONG: Stoke have only kept two clean sheets in their 14 games so far in 2016 but have considerable firepower and creativity going forward these days with the likes of Shaqiri and Arnautovic propelling the Potters into the top half of the Premier League.

Long scored the winner at Swansea last month, the last time the Saints won. With seven goals to his name, the Irishman is Southampton’s top scorer in the league this season and you suspect he will need to be firing if Southampton are to get a result in a game which promises goals.

Weird /best stat…

3: Stoke have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four away games in the Premier League. The exception to that sequence was a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth.

Remember when…

On a horrendously windy afternoon back in May 2013, Asimir Begovic opened the scoring after just 13 seconds as his long clearance down field was caught by the wind and took one hop over Artur Boruc in the Saints goal and into the back of the net.

Player to watch…

GIANNELLI IMBULA: Stoke’s club-record signing produced a man of the match performance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea and has looked worth every penny of the £18million that Stoke paid for the former Porto man in January.

Imbula has given Stoke a physically dominating presence in the centre of midfield whilst also having the pace and technical attributes to link up the play between defence and the creative players in Shaqiri and Arnautovic, both of whom look better players for having Imbula act as the engine in the centre of the park.

Past three-meetings…

Southampton 0 Stoke 1 (Bojan), Premier League, November 2015

Stoke 2 (Diouf, Adam) Southampton 1 (Schneiderlin), Premier League, April 2015

Stoke 2 (N’Zoni, Diouf) Southampton 3 (Pelle 2, Long), League Cup, October 2014

Form guide…

Stoke: LLWWWD

Southampton: DWWLLD

Vital information…

KICK-OFF TIME: 15:00

TV: highlights on BBC1 : 22:40