News from the bet365 Stadium as Narcis Pelach selects an offensive lineup for the Championship matchup with Portsmouth
Sam Gallagher makes his Stoke City debut in its entirety as Narcis Pelach selects an offensive lineup for the team’s home match against Portsmouth.
After recuperating from a preseason calf injury, Blackburn Rovers summer acquisition Gallagher made his Middlesbrough debut on Saturday from the bench. This evening at 7:45 p.m., he will start up front next to Tom Cannon.
Right-back Ben Wilmot is anticipated to start, with Enda Stevens making his first league start of the year. In the midst of defence, it’s Michael Rose and Ben Gibson. Andrew Moran moves into midfield to partner Wouter Burger, while Bae Junho moves to the left and Lewis Koumas moves to the right.
Due to an injury, Million Manhoef is forced to sit out while Eric Bocat, Jordan Thompson, and Junior Tchamadeu move to the bench. Ashley Phillips is listed among the substitutes after completing the concussion protocol.
During his pre-game press conference, Pelach stated: “We want to play with more aggression on both the offensive and defensive ends. I want to see the team play more like we did during the opening half an hour of our match against Hull City. We were on the front foot, trying to win the ball back up the pitch, and when we did receive the ball, we really went forward to attack and get shots off. We have been focussing on it. We aspire to be enormous. Naturally, we are aiming to be lot more aggressive with our ideas and the new track we are on, therefore we will be much more aggressive.”
Stoke City: Johansson, Wilmot, Rose, Gibson, Stevens, Moran, Burger, Junho, Koumas, Gallagher, Cannon. Subs: Bonham, Tchamadeu, Bocat, Phillips, Thompson, Seko, Sidibe, Vidigal, Tezgel.
Portsmouth: Norris, Ogilvie, Poole, Pack, Potts, O’Mahony, McIntyre, Swanson, Murphy, Blair, Lane. Subs: Schmid, Williams, Towler, Saydee, Sorensen, Silvera, Dozzell, Kamara, Ritchie.
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