Stoke City travel to Everton on Monday as the busy festive period continues for the Potters.

Both sides have amassed 26 points in the Premier League this season, with the Toffees currently two places ahead of the Potters in ninth.

Stoke are fresh from a convincing 2-0 win against Manchester United on Boxing Day, while Everton snatched a late winner to win 1-0 at Newcastle United.

Head-to-head

Everton have won 38 of the 59 league meetings at Goodison Park, including seven of their last 10 top-flight home games against Stoke. However, the Potters won both of the league meetings with the Toffees last season, without conceding a single goal.

Stoke have scored only nine goals in their last 20 home league games against Everton and never more than once in a single match during this run.

Will Everton be Stoke's next victim?

Manager Mark Hughes has transformed Stoke's style of play and people's perceptions of the Potters. The Stoke boss has taken the team away from the style that became famous under Tony Pulis replacing it with a free-flowing brand of attacking football.

Stoke started the season without a win in their opening six league games, which did not match the pre-season optimism at the Britannia Stadium after the signings of Xherdan ShaqiriIbrahim Afellay and Glen Johnson in the summer.

Nonetheless, a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth was enough to inspire a turnaround. Successive 1-0 wins over Aston Villa and Swansea City followed and saw Stoke climb the table, in addition to securing a place in the Capital One Cup semi-finals.

Stoke celebrate after beating Chelsea in the League Cup. (Image: Getty Images)
Stoke celebrate after beating Chelsea in the League Cup. (Image: Getty Images)

Victories over SouthamptonChelseaManchester City and, most recently, Manchester United, show Hughes' side are capable of beating anyone and they will be hoping that Everton are their next victims.

The attacking trio of Marko Arnautovic, Bojan Krkic and  Shaqiri were in fine form when Stoke beat Manchester City earlier this month, but, despite their attacking talent, Stoke are one of the division's lowest scorers, finding the net on only 16 occasions this season.

Fortunately for them, they have been very strong defensively to even this out. They have kept a clean sheet in eight of their last 11 Premier League games, including in five of their last six away matches.

The opposition

Roberto Martinez will be hoping Everton's dramatic win at Newcastle on Boxing Day will lead to an upturn in fortunes, beginning with their fixture against Stoke.

Everton supporters were probably resigning themselves to another frustrating draw - a fifth in seven games - before Tom Cleverley scored in the dying seconds to secure a last-gasp victory for Everton and end their four game winless run.

The Toffees have produced some superb attacking play; Romelu Lukaku has looked unstoppable, Gerard Deulofeu is producing the kind of form that saw him so highly regarded at Barcelona, while Ross Barkley is finally producing the end product.

However, lacklustre defending has seen them fail to record back-to-back league victories in the top-flight this season and Martinez will be eager for his side to end the year on a high.

Everton celebrate after Tom Cleverley's late winner against Newcastle. (Image: Getty Images)
Everton celebrate after Tom Cleverley's late winner against Newcastle. (Image: Getty Images)

Team news

Shaqiri is expected to be fit despite coming off in the second-half of win over Manchester United. Geoff Cameron and Glenn Whelan were also substituted because of slight calf and hamstring injuries respectively, but should be available for the trip to Goodison Park.

However, Stoke will definitely be without Stephen IrelandPeter Crouch and Marc Muniesa, who are all still sidelined with hamstring injuries.

Martinez, on the other hand, is likely to use the depth of his squad. Deulofeu and Arouna Kone were both rested against Newcastle on Saturday, with the Spaniard used only as a second-half substitute and the Ivorian not at all, but both players will hope to be involved on Monday.

Phil Jagielka (knee), Steven PienaarBryan Oviedo (both hamstring), James McCarthy (hip) and Steven Naismith (ankle) could all be in contention after recovering from injuries.

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About the author
Adam Bailey
Everton editor, who also covers cycling and athletics.