Stoke City are flying high in the Championship, sitting seventh after eight games.
While it is still very early on in the season, fans will be hoping it’s a sign of things to come rather than a purple patch. The Potters haven’t finished in the top half of the Championship since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018. Their highest finish is 14th, achieved in 2020/21 and then 2021/22.
Last season, Stoke finished 17th, eight points clear of the relegation zone with only two teams losing more games than their 21.
It looked like they were in for more of the same at the start of the new season too, losing their first three games. Then something switched.
How Stoke’s changes have inspired unbeaten run
Stoke taking more control
Stoke aren’t a possession-heavy team, and they aren’t going to be. But some of their improvements have been based around taking more control in matches. Their first three opponents will have played a role in this with Swansea City (59.76%), Southampton (58.83%) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (53.41%) all ranking in the top seven for posssession in the Championship this season.
Across those three matches, Stoke averaged 43.37% possession, ranking them 18th in the Championship. Their possession increased to 48.33% across the next five. Although they are still having less of the ball than their opponents, Stoke are doing more with their minor increase.
Not only are Stoke passing more, attempting 390.6 per game across their past five matches compared to 323.33 in their opening three, but they are completing more of their attempts. The Potters’ passing accuracy has increased to 80.85%, up slightly from 79.48%. They’ve been attempting more passes in dangerous areas too, with 93.6 per game in the final third compared to 76.67.
Stoke are getting better at keeping hold of the ball too. With their 594.4 passes per game, Stoke are only averaging 7.8 dispossessions per match. That’s perhaps the most important statistic of them all. You could forgive Stoke for losing the ball more given their increase in possession. But they were actually averaging 9.0 dispossessions per game when only having 512.33 touches of the ball in the opening three games.
Creativity and clinicality
More possession means nothing if you’re not doing anything with it. Fortunately, Stoke have made it count, particularly with their increased action in the dangerous areas. They’ve averaged 18.2 touches in the opposition box per game across their past five matches, compared to 15.33 in their first three games of the season.
Stoke are taking more shots per game since their unbeaten run started, with an improvement from 10.33 to 13.2. Crucially, they’re more accurate too. The Potters have hit the target with 37.88% of their shots in the past five games (5.0 per game), up from 22.58% (2.33 per game) in the opening three matches.
Naturally, Stoke are scoring goals more frequently too, with their goals per game doubling across the two time frames. It comes from an increase in chances being created as a unit, from 8.0 per game to 10.4. The quality of these chances has grown too with 0.33 big chances per game rising to 1.4 across the past five matches.
Stoke’s switch to a back three has been at the heart of that, unlocking Ethan Galbraith’s creativity. Rather than being stuck in a double pivot, Galbraith has been able to influence games more — despite scoring in two of their opening three matches. The Northern Ireland international has created 16 chances in the Championship this season, with 15 of those coming in the past five matches. It’s a similar story for Eric Bocat, who leads Stoke with two big chances created — both coming since he was switched from left-back to wing-back.
Defensive solidity in new formation
The switch from a 4-2-3-1 to a back three has also — unsurprisingly — had a positive impact on Stoke’s defensive structure. Stoke have kept two clean sheets in their past five league games, the first two after switching formations.
The key change has been in Norwich winning the ball back. They are now able to press higher up the pitch, averaging 3.2 possessions won in the attacking third — an increase from 2.67 in their opening three matches. As a result, Stoke are slightly less busy in the middle third. But when it comes to the defensive third, although Stoke’s numbers have increased from 17.33 to 19.4, it’s because they have having a lot more success.
Stoke are seeing more tackles being made, with an increase from 14.33 to 16.6 per game. They’re also making more clearances (30 per game) and interceptions (12.2) per game, both increasing from their first three matches. And they’re restricting the number of shots they face. Across their first three games, Stoke faced an average of 14.33 shots per match, with 5.33 on target. During their current unbeaten run, the Potters have averaged 13.6 shots conceded, with 4.2 on target.
They’ve been forcing their opponents to more shots from outside the box, such is the solidity of their defence. Of course it isn’t perfect, but Stoke are on the right path, and fans will be hoping progress isn’t halted by the international break.