Stoke City and Middlesbrough square off at the bet365 Stadium on Wednesday night with both clubs having endured disappointing starts to the season.
The teams have just one win between them from their opening three fixtures, leaving them in 16th and 19th position in the Championship standings respectively.
Match preview
With Harry Clarke remaining on the sidelines for a number of weeks, Stoke boss O’Neill must decide whether to keep young defender Tom Sparrow at right wing-back.
An alternative is restoring Phil Jagielka to the back three and using Ben Wilmot as a make-shift wing-back.
Tyrese Campbell is expected to be restored to the starting lineup in place of Jacob Brown or Dwight Gayle.
Dael Fry could retain his spot in the Middlesbrough XI having only been withdrawn at half time against Sheffield United due to tactical reasons.
Matthew Hoppe is pushing for a start in attack, potentially in place of Akpom who needed to be withdrawn with a niggle during the closing seconds of the last match.
Mowatt also comes into contention for his first start after featuring off the substitutes’ bench at the weekend.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Taylor, Jagielka, Flint; Wilmot, Baker, Laurent, Smallbone, Tymon; Brown, Campbell
Our Prediction
Home Win or Away Win