Stoke City head into their FA Cup third round tie with Leyton Orient looking to bounce back from successive defeats in the Championship.
While the Potters occupy eighth position in the second tier, the visitors are 10th in League Two, a consequence of suffering back-to-back losses of their own.
Match preview
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Despite a 19-day break for coronavirus-related reasons, Stoke boss Michael O'Neill would have been confident of getting back on track with home fixtures against Derby County and Preston North End.
However, successive 2-1 defeats have left the Potters five points adrift of the playoffs and O'Neill coming under pressure to keep his position in the dugout.
Although Stoke have still recorded 14 points from their last 10 games, supporters will point to four wins and seven defeats being posted in 13 games.
Possessing matches in hand, Stoke are still in contention for promotion back to the Premier League, but their upcoming run of fixtures may prove pivotal.
Leyton Orient have endured their own frustrating period with Sunday's game due to end a 22-day break from competitive action.
Kenny Jackett's team have also lost three of their last four outings in League Two, leaving the club four points adrift of the playoff places.
You also have to go all the way back to October 5 for their last success on the road, a period spanning six games.
Dominant victories over Tranmere Rovers, in this competition, and Swindon Town at the start of December are still fresh in the memory, but Jackett remains under pressure to turn more draws into victories.
These two sides have never met in the FA Cup, their only meeting in any competition since 1993 coming in the EFL Cup in 2009.
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Team News
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Jacob Brown and Sam Surridge are expected to be among a number of Stoke players who are handed a recall for this fixture.
Goalkeeper Jack Bonham should be given a chance between the sticks, while Tommy Smith, Alfie Doughty and Tashan Oakley-Boothe will also hope to feature.
While Jordan Thompson is pushing for a return from injury, Steven Fletcher is the latest to join a long list of absentees.
Omar Beckles is among the players which are expected to come back into contention for Leyton Orient.
Darren Pratley is also available after suspension, with Adam Thompson and Matt Young both likely to drop out of the team.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bonham; Smith, Batth, Chester; Ince, Clucas, Oakley-Boothe, Vrancic, Doherty; Brown, Surridge
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Sweeney, Happe, Beckles, Ogie; Drinan, Clay, Pratley, Kemp, Wood; Smith
We say: Stoke City 2-0 Leyton Orient
Regardless of which team O'Neill selects on Sunday, Orient will fancy their chances of an upset. Nevertheless, Stoke should be able to come through this tie in what could prove to be a routine afternoon.
Top tip
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 Stoke City win with a probability of 49.69%. A draw had a probability of 25.2% and a win for Leyton Orient had a probability of 25.14%.
The most likely scoreline for a Stoke City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.44%) and 2-0 (9.04%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.97%), while for a Leyton Orient win it was 0-1 (7.59%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Stoke City in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Stoke City.
