Stoke City host West Brom in the EFL Cup tomorrow night.
The two Championship sides meet in the opening round of the EFL Cup tomorrow evening.
Stoke City go into this one on the back of a 4-1 opening day win over Rotherham United in the Championship, whilst West Brom were beaten 2-1 away at Blackburn Rovers.
The Baggies won both meetings between these two sides last season, scoring two goals in both matches – the last was a 2-1 win for West Brom at the bet365 Stadium back in April.
Here, a handful of our writers make their predictions for the game…
Luke Phelps
“When two teams from the same division meet in the cup, it often comes down to who makes the most changes from their usual league side. But with it being so soon after the first game of the season, I think both managers will field strong sides as to get the players further up to match speed.
“And should that be the case, I’d lean towards a Stoke win. I really think they’ll challenge this season whereas West Brom look a bit slow out of the blocks.
“The Potters also have a much bigger squad than the Baggies, so they could make a few changes and still have a strong XI.”
Score prediction: Stoke City 2-1 West Brom
James Ray
“Cup clashes between teams in the same league can often prove quite unpredictable but I can see Stoke claiming a win here.
“West Brom got their season off to a disappointing start while the Potters have sprung out the blocks in impressive fashion. Building momentum early will be key for Stoke’s efforts to push towards the play-off fight and to do that, Neil should field a strong side.
“I think the hosts will get the better of the Baggies fairly comfortable. I’ll say 3-1 to the hosts, sending West Brom out of the cup at the first hurdle.”
Score prediction: Stoke City 3-1 West Brom
