MANAGER
Mark Hughes
STAR MAN
Xherdan Shaqiri
LAST SEASON
13th
TOP SCORER
Peter Crouch (7)
KEY INS
Darren Fletcher (West Brom, free), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea, loan)
Darren Fletcher
KEY OUTS
Marko Arnautovic (Stoke, £20m), Jonathan Walters (Burnley, £3m), Phil Bardsley (Burnley, £700k)
REASONS TO BE POSITIVE
No matter the season, no matter the squad, no matter the opposition – Stoke will seemingly always finish around mid-table and fans will continue to enjoy Premier League football.
REASONS TO BE PESSIMISTIC
A lack of arrivals means an average squad is treading water and they could be caught, especially as their once-resiliant defence appears to be in decline.
ONE TO WATCH
Until his ACL in 2016, Kurt Zouma was the future of the Chelsea and France defence. Has a point to prove and will have an eye on Russia 2018.
Kurt Zouma
EXPECTATION
Ahead of their 10th successive top-flight season the goal is to halt last season’s slide and rediscover their hard-to-beat mentality.
REALITY
Lack goals, have lost one of their most creative players in Arnautovic and appear ripe for a relegation fight.