A match between Stoke City and Coventry City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon promises to be a struggle for Midlands supremacy on the first weekend of the Championship season.
While the Sky Blues are attempting to return to the Premier League after recent disappointments, the Potters are aiming to move forward after numerous seasons of midtable mediocrity.
Stoke City fans had little to cheer about at the bet365 Stadium after the team was relegated to the Championship from the Premier League in 2018 together with Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion. This is the sixth consecutive season that Stoke City has finished in the bottom half of the second division.
With Alex Neil leading the Potters into the relegation dogfight at the start of the previous season, the club changed managers in December and brought in Steven Schumacher. The former Plymouth Argyle manager helped lead the Staffordshire-based team to safety, finishing six points ahead of Birmingham City, who was in 21st place.
Portuguese winger Andre Vidigal won his team’s Golden Boot race with just six Championship strikes last season, highlighting Stoke’s inability to consistently threaten opponents offensively. Schumacher’s team will need to make significant improvements if they hope to compete at the top of the division this season.
During the first portion of the summer transfer window, the Potters began to address their goal-scoring problem when they signed second-tier veteran Sam Gallagher from Blackburn Rovers. Rovers anticipate a difficult season as a result of their ongoing unfavorable ownership situation.
Earlier in the preseason, Stoke tested their mettle against EFL rivals Crewe Alexandra, Bolton Wanderers, and Stockport County. On August 3, they played Dutch powerhouses AZ Alkmaar, and Troy Parrott’s goal sealed a narrow victory for the Eredivisie visitors.
After losing to Luton Town in a penalty shootout in the 2023 playoff final, Coventry City was never able to replicate its success in 2023–24, ending three spots and nine points below Norwich City in sixth place. This was due to the fact that the team missed out on a much-needed return to the Premier League.
Coventry City was unable to replicate its success in the 2023–24 season, finishing three spots and nine points behind Norwich City in sixth. The team missed out on a long-awaited return to the Premier League following a penalty-shootout loss to Luton Town during the playoff final in 2023.
Coventry City was unable to replicate its success in the 2023–24 season, finishing three spots and nine points behind Norwich City in sixth. The team missed out on a long-awaited return to the Premier League following a penalty-shootout loss to Luton Town during the playoff final in 2023.
Despite finishing in midtable, the Sky Blues had a fantastic run in the FA Cup, reaching the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium. There, a highly-controversial VAR call denied the Midlands team a historic triumph over Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
The FA Cup run affected Coventry’s small group of players’ ability to contend for a top-six finish, despite the glitter of a Cinderella run in the competition; most of this summer’s transfer activity was focused on bolstering the Sky Blues’ squad depth.
Despite Haji Wright and Ellis Simms already being part of the Coventry Building Society Arena’s attacking lineup, the team’s most recent addition, striker Brandon Thomas-Asante, came from Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion.
Mark Robins, who is in his eighth season as Sky Blues manager, will oversee his 400th game at Coventry during the season, making him by far the longest-serving manager in the second division as of the opening of the 2024–25 campaign.
