Team news as Stoke City take on Watford in the Championship.

Ali Al-Hamadi returns to lead the line for Stoke City against Watford as Mark Robins makes five changes.

Ben Pearson and Jordan Thompson are back in midfield, Lewis Koumas is back on the wing and Junior Tchamadeu returns at right-back as every department is shuffled.

Viktor Johansson starts behind a back four of Tchamadeu, Enda Stevens, Ashley Phillips and Ben Wilmot. Thompson and Pearson play behind Moran while Koumas and Bae Junho flank Al-Hamadi. Lewis Baker drops out through illness.

Robins said in his pre-match press conference: “We’ve got a situation when there are players coming back from injury who have got to play a certain amount of minutes, they can’t play overly because they’ll break. Those are the things that are added to it.

“Positive is that it won’t be long before they can perform for longer and will be able to start games but that’s obviously a skill. It’s down to me to pick a team that is going to deliver for supporters in a way they want, or as close to the way they want, but I want them to play.

“I want to see attacking football and I want to see them creating chances and getting after the ball. We’re seeing quite a lot of that at the moment and the fact we’ve turned a goal drought around a little bit and we’re starting to score and look a little more threatening at times. Sometimes that means you’re a little more open and that’s then cost us. There is a pay off to be had and there’s a balance again.

“Those are the things that we’ve got to try to do as well as facing really good opponents. That is the challenge of this division and for us at this moment in time. We’ve got to focus on being in the here and now and dealing with whatever is in front of us.”

Stoke: Johansson, Tchamadeu Stevens, Phillips, Wilmot, Thompson, Pearson, Moran, Koumas, Junho, Al-Hamadi.

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