Stoke City midfielder John Obi Mikel is in contention to play against Bournemouth tonight, according to Goal.
This would be crucial for Stoke as the Nigerian’s presence in midfield could be enough to sway the game in their favour, and lift the them into the top six.
Obi Mikel, who joined Stoke in the summer has been sidelined in recent times, with a calf injury he sustained in the Potters draw with Sheffield Wednesday in late November.
The injury ruled Obi Mikel out of eight games over the Christmas period, before he made a brief return off the bench in the hard fought draw with rivals Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
The availability of the Nigerian would be a huge boost to manager Micheal O’Neill, ahead of their high flying battle with promotion pushing Bournemouth. One of the main attractions to bring Obi Mikel to Staffordshire was for his experience of playing in big games with Chelsea, and he certainly has the quality to swing the game in the favour of Stoke this evening.
It’s likely O’Neill will do everything he can to have the Nigerian available tonight, due to the exciting midfield melee against a strong looking Bournemouth midfield, which is expected to consist of Lewis Cook, Jefferson Lerma, and Dane Philip Billing. You could argue that’s the best midfield in the league, and only puts more importance on Obi Mikel being available.
It’s clear that John Obi Mikel, even at 33 is still one of the very best players in the league. The experience the former Chelsea man has amassed over his career is substantial, and the Potters will have a much better chance of taking Bournemouth down with him available for selection tonight.
