Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes has a strategy in place to beat Arsenal when they visit the Britannia Stadium on Saturday Reuters

Stoke City host Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday in the 2014/15 Premier League.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 3pm GMT. Live coverage of the game will be available on Setanta Sports 1. Catch the highlights on Match of the Day at 10.30pm GMT on BBC One and BBC One HD.

Overview

Stoke City welcome Arsenal to the Britannia Stadium in what is guaranteed to be a heated and intense affair between the two long-time rivals. The rivalry between the two clubs began following Ryan Shawcross' hard tackle that broke Gunners' midfielder Aaron Ramsey's leg and ever since that incident, there has been no love lost between the two clubs.

Stoke have always had a very good record against Arsenal at home and Mark Hughes will hope it continues when they clash on Saturday. The manager is aware that his team will need to break Arsenal's flow and trouble their back four to come away with a positive result.

The manager does have a few injury concerns, and will mostly put out a similar side that lost to Manchester United on Tuesday night at Old Trafford.

Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger will hope his team can carry on their momentum and add to the victories over West Bromwich Albion and Southampton. Getty

Meanwhile, the Gunners are coming in to this game on the back of three consecutive wins, and will hope to take their momentum into the game against the Potters, whom they have traditionally struggled to beat on their own turf.

Arsene Wenger knows that his team are still struggling for confidence and have just managed 1-0 wins in their previous two Premier League fixtures despite having most of the possession and the better chances.

The manager is still without various first-team players and will depend on the players who are fit to carry them over the line against, what is sure to be a stubborn Stoke side.

Alexis Sanchez has been one of the signings of the summer and was again on hand to bail out the Gunners against Southampton on Wednesday night. He has been the form player for Wenger's team and the manager will hope that the rest of the squad can step up and share the burden with the Chilean forward to help secure the team all three points.

Betting Odds (By 888Sport.com)

  • Arsenal Win: 19/20
  • Draw: 28/11
  • Stoke City Win: 58/19

What Managers Say

Mark Hughes: "We know if we do the right things and are competitive, we can cause Arsenal problems. We want to be positive, get at their back four and not let them get into any rhythm. Every club I have been at, the key is to break up that rhythmic passing they've got to effect what they want to do and then obviously you get a benefit from that."

Arsene Wenger: "It's always a tough and committed place to go but we dictate the way we want to play at that level of commitment. It's a football game, not a hate game. We want to focus on playing football. Stoke don't lose many games at home and have good records against many good teams."

Team News

Stoke City

  • Injured: Peter Odemwingie, Victor Moses, Steve Sidwell, Glenn Whelan
  • Doubtful: Jonathan Walters
  • Suspended: N/A

Possible XI: Begovic; Bardsley, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters; Cameron, N'Zonzi; Assaidi, Bojan, Arnautovic; Diouf.

Arsenal

  • Injured: Diaby (calf), Ospina (thigh), Özil (knee), Sanogo (hamstring), Arteta (calf), Wilshere (ankle), Walcott (groin)
  • Doubtful: N/A
  • Suspended: N/A

Possible XI: Martinez; Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Flamini, Ramsey; Welbeck, Cazorla, Sanchez, Giroud