Stoke City welcome Cardiff City to the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday evening looking for the victory which would keep the club in the Championship playoffs.
However, the visitors make the trip to Staffordshire as the only team in the division to win their last three games, a run which has moved the Bluebirds into 11th position.
Match preview
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Stoke have emerged as one of the more unpredictable sides this season, mixing drab one-goal wins with end-to-end thrillers which have not always gone their way.
On the back of conceding six goals in just two matches, Michael O'Neill's side have now recorded three clean sheets in a row against Sheffield Wednesday, Wycombe Wanderers and Middlesbrough.
While that trio have all struggled in the final third this campaign, O'Neill will be satisfied with a seven-point haul which has moved the Potters back into the top six.
Even though the goals have dried up at one end of the pitch, the increasing confidence of England Under-21s goalkeeper Josef Bursik has been a huge plus point at the other.
With the top six out of the way for 2020, O'Neill will have identified this period of the season as one where they can make significant progress, and few people would be surprised if this team topped the standings at the turn of the year.
However, they cannot afford to get ahead of themselves at this stage, and Cardiff will provide their toughest test since they lost out to Norwich City on November 24.
Bluebirds manager Neil Harris has cut a frustrated figure since the beginning of September, but victories over Luton Town, Huddersfield Town and Watford have lifted the mood in the Welsh capital.
Like their hosts, three clean sheets have been recorded in succession, while a considerable improvement has been made in attack with Kieffer Moore netting four times over the same period.
Cardiff have arguably the toughest run of games up until Boxing Day with Swansea City, Norwich City and Brentford all to come in quick succession.
Nevertheless, picking up maximum points on Tuesday evening would make the teams above them sit up and take note, particularly their fierce rivals ahead of Saturday's derby.
Stoke City Championship form: WWLDWW
Cardiff City Championship form: LDLWWW
Team News
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Barring any late fitness problems, Harris may select the Cardiff side which started the game at Watford.
That would see Mark Harris retain his place in the final third, keeping the likes of Junior Hoilett and Robert Glatzel on the substitutes' bench.
With a number of his key players still struggling with injuries, O'Neill could name the same Stoke XI.
Ryan Shawcross will remain among the replacements after his first outing of the season at the weekend, while O'Neill will hope that John Obi Mikel can return to the squad after a calf issue.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Collins, Chester, Batth, M.Fox; Cousins, Clucas; Campbell, Powell, McClean; Brown
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Bacuna, Morrison, Nelson, Bennett; Wilson, Ralls, Vaulks, Ojo; Moore, Harris
We say: Stoke City 1-1 Cardiff City
Both clubs will sense an opportunity to move higher in the standings after their recent upturn in results. Nevertheless, we expect a hard-fought battle in the Potteries, once which could end in a low-scoring draw.
Top betting tip
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Cardiff City win with a probability of 38.15%. A win for Stoke City had a probability of 34.6% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Cardiff City win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.83%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.18%) and 0-2 (6.86%). The likeliest Stoke City win was 1-0 (10.2%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.91%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Cardiff City would win this match.
