Stoke City team news vs Coventry as key man returns
Team news from the CBS Arena as Stoke City take on Coventry in the Championship
Wouter Burger returns to the Stoke City starting XI in Mark Robins’ only change for a game against Coventry.
Burger replaces Jordan Thompson to sit in midfield next to Ben Pearson and behind Andrew Moran. The midfielder has missed the last three matches due to a knee injury he picked up in the closing stages of a 3-1 win over Swansea three weeks ago.
Robins is expected to go with a 4-2-3-1 system, with Viktor Johansson in goal behind a back four of Junior Tchamadeu, Enda Stevens, Ashley Phillips and Ben Wilmot. Lewis Koumas and Bae Junho flank Ali Al-Hamadi up front. You can follow the game live here.
This is Robins’ first return to Coventry since leaving as manager in November and there was a welcoming reception from home supporters chanting his name as he got off the team coach.
Robins said in his pre-match press conference: “It’s not about me, it’s about the players,” he said. “If people want to make it about me, that’s up to them. I spent a lot of time there and I had a brilliant time there, the best time in my managerial career without a doubt and the support was absolutely brilliant.
“That came to an end in November and my employment here started, as everyone knows, in January – and I’m all in here. “What’s gone has gone. From my point of view, it’ll be great going back to see a few friendly faces and nice people and then we’ve got a game to play.
