Stoke V Everton at Britannia Stadium : Match Preview
Stoke V Everton - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.
Hughes out for revenge
Stoke boss Mark Hughes wants his side to right the wrongs of Goodison Park when Everton visit the Britannia Stadium on Wednesday.
It is only a month since the Potters were hammered 4-0 by fourth-placed Everton in a one-sided clash on Merseyside.
Hughes said: "They're doing very well and we've had recent experience of the quality that they're showing.
"Obviously we were well beaten at Goodison, 4-0, and it could have been more if we're honest. We've got a quick opportunity to turn that round.
"It was very difficult for us, Everton on the day were very good and deserved to win comprehensively, but this is our home game and our home form's good so we want to put in a better showing than we did at Goodison.
"We're enjoying playing at home at the moment, we're getting great support and we want to carry on our good run at the Britannia."
The defeat at Goodison actually came in the middle of a decent run for Stoke, their only loss in seven league games that included a victory over Chelsea.
Their last home outing brought a win against Aston Villa, and Hughes' team have only lost one Premier League match at the Britannia all season.
They will be relieved to get back home after back-to-back away fixtures that could barely have gone any worse.
Stoke lost 5-1 against Newcastle and then 3-0 at Tottenham, with the club unhappy at refereeing decisions in both games.
Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson were both sent off in the first half at St James' Park while Hughes was charged by the Football Association with improper conduct after kicking a ball in frustration at the former's dismissal.
Midfielder Whelan and defender Wilson served their bans at White Hart Lane so will be available again for Everton, meaning Geoff Cameron can revert to full-back.
Hughes said: "That will help us. I think that certainly had an impact at Tottenham so we'll welcome back the likes of Glenn and Marc."
Cameron's stand-in Andy Wilkinson misses out with a heel injury, though, and joins fellow defender Robert Huth (knee) and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic (broken finger) on the sidelines.
Hughes, keen for Stoke to put the past two games behind them, took over from Tony Pulis in the summer and set about changing Stoke's style to be less direct.
After the first half of the season, the Potters sit 12th in the table, five points above the relegation zone.
Despite the Goodison Park result a month ago, Toffees boss Roberto Martinez is wary of the trip to the Britannia Stadium.
"You look at the last two results and it was a little bit of a freak performance against Newcastle (losing 5-0) and that affected them going into Spurs (a 3-1 defeat)," he said.
"They are unbeaten in their last six at home and we know when they play at the Britannia they are an extremely difficult team."
Sylvain Distin is expected to recover from a minor hamstring problem but fellow centre-back Phil Jagielka will be sidelined for a few weeks with a similar injury.
Midfielder Gareth Barry and goalkeeper Tim Howard return from one-game suspensions.
Hughes out for revenge
Stoke boss Mark Hughes wants his side to right the wrongs of Goodison Park when Everton visit the Britannia Stadium on Wednesday.
It is only a month since the Potters were hammered 4-0 by fourth-placed Everton in a one-sided clash on Merseyside.
Hughes said: "They're doing very well and we've had recent experience of the quality that they're showing.
"Obviously we were well beaten at Goodison, 4-0, and it could have been more if we're honest. We've got a quick opportunity to turn that round.
"It was very difficult for us, Everton on the day were very good and deserved to win comprehensively, but this is our home game and our home form's good so we want to put in a better showing than we did at Goodison.
"We're enjoying playing at home at the moment, we're getting great support and we want to carry on our good run at the Britannia."
The defeat at Goodison actually came in the middle of a decent run for Stoke, their only loss in seven league games that included a victory over Chelsea.
Their last home outing brought a win against Aston Villa, and Hughes' team have only lost one Premier League match at the Britannia all season.
They will be relieved to get back home after back-to-back away fixtures that could barely have gone any worse.
Stoke lost 5-1 against Newcastle and then 3-0 at Tottenham, with the club unhappy at refereeing decisions in both games.
Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson were both sent off in the first half at St James' Park while Hughes was charged by the Football Association with improper conduct after kicking a ball in frustration at the former's dismissal.
Midfielder Whelan and defender Wilson served their bans at White Hart Lane so will be available again for Everton, meaning Geoff Cameron can revert to full-back.
Hughes said: "That will help us. I think that certainly had an impact at Tottenham so we'll welcome back the likes of Glenn and Marc."
Cameron's stand-in Andy Wilkinson misses out with a heel injury, though, and joins fellow defender Robert Huth (knee) and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic (broken finger) on the sidelines.
Hughes, keen for Stoke to put the past two games behind them, took over from Tony Pulis in the summer and set about changing Stoke's style to be less direct.
After the first half of the season, the Potters sit 12th in the table, five points above the relegation zone.
Despite the Goodison Park result a month ago, Toffees boss Roberto Martinez is wary of the trip to the Britannia Stadium.
"You look at the last two results and it was a little bit of a freak performance against Newcastle (losing 5-0) and that affected them going into Spurs (a 3-1 defeat)," he said.
"They are unbeaten in their last six at home and we know when they play at the Britannia they are an extremely difficult team."
Sylvain Distin is expected to recover from a minor hamstring problem but fellow centre-back Phil Jagielka will be sidelined for a few weeks with a similar injury.
Midfielder Gareth Barry and goalkeeper Tim Howard return from one-game suspensions.
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