IN FOCUS: STOKE CITY

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Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-16T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: STOKE CITY

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-16T08:00:00.000Z

Ticket details for our game at The bet365 Stadium

Founded in 1863 as ‘Stoke Ramblers’, the Potters went on to be renamed as Stoke Football Club in 1878 and became one of the founding members of the Football League alongside the Clarets the following year.

Only changing name to be recognised as ‘Stoke City’ in 1925, the club came close to a First Division title in 1947 but lost the final game of the season which saw City narrowly miss out.

In the years which followed, Stoke slipped into the second division in 1953 and it took the Potters 10 years to climb back to the top-flight.

Stoke’s only major honour to date came in 1972 when they lifted the League Cup after beating Chelsea in front of nearly 100,000 spectators at Wembley.

There were plenty of ups and downs for City following the silverware, slipping down to the Third Division in 1990, though it was during that spell where Stoke won their first Football League Trophy after beating Stockport County.

The Potters won that competition again in 2000, before eventually reaching the Premier League eight years later and staying there for 10 years.

During that decade in the top-flight they also featured in an FA Cup Final against Manchester City and secured three top 10 finishes in that time.

Since relegation in 2018, City have remained in the Championship with 14th being their highest finish since returning to the second tier.

Stadium: bet365 Stadium (30,089) – Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4EG

Nickname(s): The Potters

Manager: Steven Schumacher

2023/24 finishing position: 17th

2023/24 top scorer (all competitions): Andre Vidigal (7)

Played for both:

Phil Bardsley –

Bardsley initially joined the Clarets for his spell with the Club on loan in the 2005/06 Championship season. The defender only featured six times, before returning to Manchester United where he then left to join Sunderland. After a seven-year spell in the North East, Bardsley signed for Stoke City in the summer of 2014 and helped them to a 9th place finish in his first campaign. The full-back played over 50 games in his three years with the Potters before leaving for Burnley in July 2017 for his second spell. Bardsley went on to spent five seasons at Turf Moor, all in the Premier League, where the defender made over 70 appearances and was part of the team that qualified for UEFA Europa League in 2018.

James O’Connor –

The Dublin-born midfielder joined Stoke City in 1996 after being brought over by the Potters’ Ireland based scouts. O’Connor made his first team debut for City in the 1998/99 season before establishing himself in the starting XI for the following four campaigns. The Irishman helped the Potters lift the Football League trophy in 2000 as Stoke beat Bristol City in the final. After over 200 appearances in five years, O’Connor left in the summer of 2003 to join West Brom. Two years later saw the midfielder arrive at Turf Moor on deadline day and he soon became a fan favourite. O’Connor only missed five league games between 2005 and 2007 before eventually leaving in 2007 after over 100 games in Claret & Blue.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis -

After rising through the academy system at Manchester City, the centre-back had loan spells with Blackburn Rovers and RSC Anderlecht before joining Stoke in January 2022. The defender instantly become a regular in the side and played 24 times in the second half of the campaign. Harwood-Bellis arrived at Turf Moor in the summer of 2022 and joined on a season-long loan for the Championship season. Making his debut on the opening night against Huddersfield Town, the youngster scored his first goal for the Clarets in a 1-1 draw with Preston North End. The centre-back played an integral role in Burnley’s promotion back to the Premier League featuring in 34 games.