In Profile: Stoke City
With victories over Scunthorpe United, Cheltenham Town and Cambridge United under their belts, two Foxes squads will head to bet365 Stadium and AESSEAL New York Stadium this weekend.
The opponents in Staffordshire will be Nathan Jones’ Stoke side, who are preparing for a second season in the Sky Bet Championship.
The manager
Nathan Jones was appointed as Stoke City manager in early January 2019, succeeding Gary Rowett at bet365 Stadium.
The Welshman, who enjoyed spells in Wales, Spain and England as a player, was named Luton Town manager in 2016 following his time as a first team coach at Brighton & Hove Albion.
During his first full season, after a fourth-place League 2 finish in 2016/17, Jones led Luton to promotion to League 1 having finished as runners-up in 2017/18.
A successful start to the following campaign saw Luton rise to second position before the 46-year-old took the helm at the Potters.
In his first campaign as manager, Stoke finished in 16th position in the Championship standings.
The squad
The Potters possess a wealth of international talent, including England goalkeeper Jack Butland, Nigeria’s Peter Etebo and Wales midfielder Joe Allen.
Meanwhile, long-serving captain Ryan Shawcross, striker Mame Biram Diouf and attacker Bojan Krkić have all gained Premier League knowhow during their time at the club.
Additions to the first team squad this summer include Stephen Ward, former Fox Nick Powell, ex-Huddersfield Town defender Tommy Smith and 23-year-old centre-back Liam Lindsay.
The trophy cabinet
Stoke’s most significant piece of silverware came in 1972, when they lifted the League Cup with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Wembley, with the late Gordon Banks in goal for the Potters on that day.
They have twice won the Football League Trophy, now named the Checkatrade Trophy, in 1992 and 2000, while they have two second division and two third division titles to their name.
Their most recent trip to Wembley Stadium, meanwhile, came in 2011, when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Manchester City following a 5-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on the same turf in the semi-finals.
The stadium
The bet365 stadium has a capacity of just over 30,000 people after an expansion was completed on the south-east corner in 2017.
Stoke have occupied the ground, which is located on Stanley Matthews Way, since 1997, while it has hosted a number of international youth friendlies.
Classic encounter
En route to the Premier League title in 2015/16, Leicester City recovered from a two-goal deficit to earn a point in Staffordshire in September 2015.
After going 2-0 down in the space of 20 minutes following strikes from Bojan Krkić and Jonathan Walters, the Foxes pulled a goal back from the spot through Riyad Mahrez in the early stages of the second half.
With just over 20 minutes to go, Jamie Vardy scored his fourth goal of the season as City registered their 12th point from their opening six games.