Stoke City will begin life under the new management of Narcis Pelach on Friday, when they play host to Hull City in a Championship contest. The Spaniard arrived to replace departing boss Steven Schumacher on Wednesday, while both sides will bid to bounce back from league defeats last weekend.
Stoke City head into their first game under new permanent management on Friday, following the departure of Steven Schumacher on Monday early on in the Championship campaign. After arriving in Staffordshire in December and eventually guiding them to a 17th-placed Championship finish, he led them into the new term with the aim of kicking on, and they experienced a mixed start prior to the September international break, recording 1-0 victories over Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle either side of defeats to Watford and West Bromwich Albion.
Their return to action last weekend, a trip to Oxford United on Saturday, proved to be Schumacher's last game at the helm, as the Potters fell to a 1-0 defeat following Idris El Mizouni's opener at the beginning of the second half. They were back in action on Tuesday, under the temporary stewardship of Ryan Shawcross, and progressed to the EFL Cup fourth round after a tricky test against fourth-tier Fleetwood Town, eventually being held to a 1-1 draw as Rhys Bennett cancelled out Michael Rose's 54th-minute opener in injury time before the Potters prevailed in a penalty shootout.
Having now turned to Spanish coach Narcis Pelach to lead them forward, Stoke City will be keen to record a second home league victory of the campaign on Friday.
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip to Staffordshire on Friday still in search of a first victory of the season under the new management of Tim Walter, who took over from Liam Rosenior over the summer. With the aim of building on last season's seventh-placed Championship finish, Hull City kicked off life under their new boss with three consecutive draws in England's second tier, sharing points with Bristol City, Plymouth Argyle and Millwall in August. Then in search of a first victory of the campaign, the Tigers have since turned out against Yorkshire rivals Leeds United and Sheffield United either side of the recent international break and failed to add any further points to their tally, firstly suffering a 2-0 defeat away at Elland Road at the end of last month.
On their return to action last Friday, Walter's men welcomed promotion-chasing Sheffield United to the MKM Stadium and took a second straight 2-0 loss, as Gustavo Hamer put the hosts ahead inside 15 minutes and Sam McCallum doubled the lead soon after the hour mark. With concern bound to be growing around the MKM Stadium with Hull City yet to kick into gear in their new era, Walter will be desperate to oversee a much-needed first win on Friday to kickstart a climb up the Championship table.
Stoke City continue to contend with several injury issues heading into the weekend, as Bosun Lawal, Lynden Gooch, Ben Pearson and Sam Gallagher remain confined to the treatment room, while defender Ashley Phillips picked up a knock of his own in the midweek cup tie against Fleetwood and could miss out. Ben Wilmot and Ben Gibson will both hope to return to the middle of the back four from the outset but face competition from Michael Rose, while Jordan Thompson and Wouter Burger should get the nod over 17-year-old Sol Sidibe to start in the midfield. Pelach inherits plenty of attacking options in his Potters squad even without Gallagher and Gooch, and Leicester City loanee Tom Cannon will likely lead the line with support from Bae Jun-ho, Million Manhoef and either Lewis Koumas, Andrew Moran or Niall Ennis.
Hull City remain without wingers Ryan Longman and Dogukan Sinik due to injuries, while new arrival Steven Alzate will not be deemed fit in time to feature on Friday. Tim Walter may opt to make several changes to his starting XI after last Friday's 2-0 home defeat to Sheffield United, with Cody Drameh, Regan Slater, Liam Millar and Kasey Palmer all vying to earn opportunities from the outset. Millar will hope to displace one of fellow new arrivals Abu Kamara or Bachir Belloumi on the wings in support of Chris Bedia, while Slater could displace Finley Burns in front of the defensive pairing of Sean McLoughlin and Alfie Jones.
Hull City possible starting lineup:Pandur; Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Giles; Slater; Kamara, Omur, Mehlem, Millar; Bedia
The introduction of Pelach could give Stoke City an instant boost on Friday, and with home advantage against a Hull City side yet to click following their own change, we back the Potters to come out on top. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Following a week of upheaval at the bet365 Stadium, Stoke City will be hoping to conclude another change of manager with a Friday night victory over Hull City. Steven Schumacher was sacked as head coach on Monday and the largely unknown Narcis Pelach appointed two days later, and the Spaniard will be in the dugout for the Championship clash with Hull (8pm kick-off).
The game - and Schumacher’s shock dismissal - were topics of discussion during the latest Sky Sports Championship predictions podcast. Pundit and former Leeds United and Nottingham Forest midfielder David Prutton admitted he had spoken to Schumacher following his exit. He explained: “I spoke to Steven Schumacher yesterday just to check on how he was. Obviously, a lot of the conversation was between me and him, but it absolutely was a bolt out of the blue. Going in on Monday morning, ready to get back to work for the week. And then it's suddenly becoming apparent that wasn't going to be the case. I think in mitigation for Steven, I don't really know what Stoke is. They've chewed up and spat out several managers that are all extremely competent at this level, so it remains to be seen what the new manager brings. I don't mean this with any hint of intended ignorance, but I’m not particularly au fait with Narcis Pelach and his CV, but we'll soon see what one of his teams looks like and soon see what Stoke deem this season to be when it comes to judging it as a success.”
And Hull will bring a warning all of their own to the bet365 Stadium when they look to win a first game this season after also changing their manager. The Tigers lost 2-0 at home to Sheffield United last time out and are languishing in the bottom three as new boss Tim Walter tries to get to grips with life in the second tier.
Prutton added: “There’s a slight hint of curiosity at the MKM Stadium with regards to what they're attempting to do. Liam Rosenior left because they wanted a change of football. Well they certainly got a change of football, but it has not garnered any results yet.”
In fact, Hull have won just one of their last 12 away league games - although that sole victory was at Stoke last season. However, Prutton is tipping the Tigers to get back on track by repeating that feat. Asked what the score was going to be at the bet365 Stadium on Friday, Prutton added: “You know what? I'm going to go for Hull City to win. I'm going 1-0 to the visitors.”
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Stoke City vs Hull City, Matchday 6 of the EFL Championship, kicks off at the Brittania Stadium. Both teams want the three points at the start of the season. Will the home team or the visitors be able to get the win, or will it end in a draw?
