Stoke & Staffordshire

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  9. Pick of the stats: Stoke City v Watford

    Side-by-side of Stoke City and Watford badges

    Stoke have only one win in their past 11 matches and are nine points adrift the play-off places as they welcome Watford on Saturday (15:00 GMT)

    Despite Milan Smit's last-gasp equalising penalty at home to Ipswich last time out, Mark Robins' side are winless in their past three.

    Watford are ninth, five points outside the top six and their hopes of catching up were dealt a blow by their 1-1 draw at bottom club Sheffield Wednesday in their last outing.

    • Stoke City have failed to score in 12 of their last 20 league games against Watford, including each of the last three in a row (D1 L2).

    • Watford are looking to get their first away league win at Stoke since a 4-0 win in 2022-23 – the Potters haven't scored in either of their last two visits since (D1 L1).

    • Stoke have won just one of their last 13 league games on a Saturday (D4 L8), beating Swansea 2-1 in December. They are averaging just 0.54 points per game across those 13 games.

    • Watford have won six of their last eight league games against City teams (D1 L1), with five of those six wins coming via a one-goal margin.

    • Stoke manager Mark Robins has only lost one of his last eight league matches against Watford (W2 D5), though it was earlier this season in a 1-0 defeat. He has never lost two league games against the Hornets in a single season.

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  22. 'It takes a bit of pressure off' - Smit on goals

    Milan Smith (right) celebrates scoring his first goals for Stoke City Shutterstock

    Milan Smit is on loan with Stoke City for the rest of the season

    Stoke City striker Milan Smit said it was "a relief" to score his first goals for the club and is glad that pressure has now been lifted.

    The Dutch forward, 23, has had to be patient while he gets used to English football following his arrival on loan from Go Ahead Eagles at the end of January.

    But in Wednesday's 3-3 thriller against Ipswich Town, Smit played a vital role, scoring his first goal to put them in front on 35 minutes, and staying cool from the spot to convert an injury-time penalty to clinch a point.

    Afterwards, Smit told BBC Radio Stoke he was delighted to get off the mark in his eighth appearance.

    "Yeah, of course, it's a relief. When you come as a striker into a new club, you want to score as soon as possible," he said.

    "If you score your first goals, it takes a bit of pressure away.

    "I hoped that I would score a few games earlier but you have to wait and trust in what you were able to.

    "I know I can score goals. I knew it was coming, but I'm really happy that it was today."

    Smit came to Stoke having scored nine goals in 25 games in all competitions for his parent club in the Eredivisie and Dutch cup this season.

    And he said acclimatising to the English game has been tough.

    "It's a big difference. If you watch the games here the intensity is so high in 90 minutes," he said.

    "If you compare it to Holland, then the intensity is the biggest difference.

    "Everybody's talking about the physicality, of course it's a difference, but it's not the biggest difference.

    "The intensity running 90 minutes long, which I think that fits me. I'm getting used to it now, every game a bit more, so I'm settling in now."

  23. Smit has arrived - but there's still work to do

    Mark Elliot
    BBC Radio Stoke commentator

    Milan SmitShutterstock

    The Eredivisie is a good league with some big clubs and excellent players.

    Dutch football continues to produce footballers who excel at home and abroad but on this evidence, the pace of the game there can't prepare a player for life in the Championship.

    Milan Smit belatedly announced his arrival in England with two goals against Ipswich and spoke of his "relief" after getting on the scoresheet in a league he's spent more than six weeks trying to acclimatise to.

    He says the "intensity" is different in England's second tier and at times it's looked like the man who signed from Go Ahead Eagles would not overcome the shock to the system.

    Stoke manager Mark Robins revealed the relentlessness of training on top of the matches has been something new for Smit but spoke of the centre-forward now "finding his feet".

    There's still work for Smit to do as he tries to get up to speed but the goals he scored against Ipswich alongside his physical traits provide cause for optimism.

    He's still only 23 and at 6ft 3in tall, he has the physical attributes to compete and will surely look to get stronger.

    His first goal was a poacher's finish while the second was a high-pressure penalty taken with almost the last kick of the game and, taken together, they show his instincts and nerve are good.

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