Stoke City: Three hopes, one fear

Hope #2: That their back four can avoid father time for one more season.

During the entirety of their Premier League run Stoke City have been known for one thing: their defending. Sure, Stoke does not score that many goals but the club has also been just as consistent in their ability to prevent. Although their tactics aren’t always the cleanest, they get the job done and almost keep the club well beyond the relegation zone.

The problem though is that Stoke really have not done much to replenish their defensive corps. It is a side that is getting older and unfortunately slowing down a bit. In their 1-0 loss to Everton last week Stoke started Phil Bardsley (31), Geoff Cameron (32), Ryan Shawcross (28), and Erik Peters (28).

With 40 year old Shay Given minding the posts while Jack Butland is off getting surgery it is clear that the Potters will be relying quite heavily on their veteran defenders this season to keep them in matches.

One young player that may break through into the starting eleven is Marc Muniesa. The 24 year old former Barcelona B player made 15 appearances for Stoke last season and performed quite admirably during the start of the season. He did suffer a hamstring injury in February which limited his time late in the campaign. However, he appears to be fully healthy.

Next: Hope #3: That Wilfried Bony can provide the scoring spark