Stoke City

Stoke City striker Sam Gallagher says his goal during their 3-1 win over Watford helped him feel "inclusion in the team" again after spending months on the sidelines.

The 30-year-old has struggled with injuries this season, missing 11 league games with a hamstring problem before making his return against the Hornets.

He also missed the first 16 games of the Championship campaign.

"That's one of the biggest things when you are injured," Gallagher told BBC Radio Stoke.

"When you are in the gym, you're looking through the glass at the boys outside working hard and you're thinking: 'I'm not helping the team'.

"So to score the goal and contribute like that was massive for me."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

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Mark Elliott
BBC Radio Stoke’s Stoke City commentator

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This was a game that looked there for the taking, particularly after Sorba Thomas opened the scoring with a brilliantly taken 10th goal of the season.

Then it all fell apart. Preston were sharper, stronger and more aggressive despite their lack of quality, something that made this 3-1 defeat even more frustrating.

Preston had won one in 13 before this but Stoke allowed them back into the game quickly despite the pressure building from the crowd.

After the game, manager Mark Robins called his team's character into question and said they'd let Stoke's 3,000 vocal travelling fans down and it was hard to disagree with his sentiments.

He wasn't frustrated, he said he was "angry".

On a poor pitch, Preston outmuscled the Potters and capitalised on errors, scoring their equaliser, for example, on a breakaway from a Stoke throw in on the edge of the home side's box.

Stoke will finish somewhere in the mid-table pack and attention will turn to next season sooner rather than later.

Some of the players involved at Deepdale may need to rebuild some trust with their manager and the fans if they're to stick around in the medium to long term.

This was a chastening night in Lancashire.

Stoke manager Mark Robins accused his players of letting down their 3,000 travelling fans in their 3-1 loss to Preston at Deepdale.

Preston were on a miserable run and Robins felt "they were there for the taking" when Stoke took the lead after four minutes through Sorba Thomas.

But Stoke failed to press home their advantage, allowing Preston to come back and win for the first time in eight Championship games.

Robins told BBC Radio Stoke: "We let the supporters down and we had 3,000 supporters here tonight, we've really let them down. That's miles away from where I expect the performance to be.

"We didn't start particularly well, you know, inexplicable. We certainly didn't win enough duels in the first half.

"But we got the first breakaway and we score from it, and they're on the back foot. They've been on the back foot for some weeks now and they looked like that. They were there for the taking and whatever happened in this game, the pitch, whatever, I have no clue.

"There were too many players with off days and I think we've let everybody down. We've not competed well enough in the game and that's inexplicable to me. It's just unacceptable. That isn't a performance that's associated with our team."

"Physically, ability wise, technically, tactically, he would be a Premier League player.

"It's to do with robustness as to why not and we all know that.

"I'd certainly give a magic pill to make Sam fit for 30-plus games a season because there is a Premier League player in there and he's a difference-maker in games."

Matt Sandoz and former Stoke City academy director Gareth Owen discuss the "conundrum" of Potters forward Sam Gallagher's struggle for fitness, after he marked his return with a goal during their 3-1 victory over Watford.

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Crewe Alexandra striker and Stoke City academy graduate Louis Moult has said the Potters will take "confidence" from an impressive scoring spell at the bet365 Stadium.

Stoke have scored three times in each of their past two matches on home soil, including a double from striker Milan Smit in their 3-3 draw with Ipswich Town - his first goals for the club since joining on loan in January.

"You score six goals at home, you've got to believe that next chance is coming," Moult told BBC Radio Stoke.

"The talk before the Ipswich game was about Smit getting onto the scoresheet for the first time and I was so delighted to see him get these two goals."

As for whether the recent run of goalscoring form will prompt more goalmouth action from his team-mates, Moult can only draw from his own experiences - but those will have Stoke fans feeling optimistic.

"I've been at clubs where I've gone 16 without a goal and then I've scored and then I didn't stop scoring after that," the 33-year-old added.

"It's believing in your own abilities and always making those runs believing you're going to get that chance."

Having both spent time in the top six earlier this season, Preston North End and Stoke City will look to rescue their campaigns when they meet at Deepdale on Friday (20:00 GMT).

Stoke put in an impressive display to beat promotion hopefuls Watford 3-1 on the weekend to reignite some embers of hope for their own push, though they are still nine points short of sixth place.

While hosts Preston might have their eyes glancing in a different direction. After winning their first two games of 2026, they have only won once since (against Portsmouth in February) and are now closer to the bottom three than the top six.

• Each of the last three league meetings between Preston and Stoke have ended level, including two 0-0s; as many goalless draws as in their previous 18 league games combined.

• Stoke haven't lost any of their last five away league games against Preston (W3 D2), which is already their longest ever unbeaten run away to the Lilywhites.

• Preston have lost their last four Championship games – they last lost five in a row in the same league campaign in their final five matches of the 2023-24 campaign, under Ryan Lowe.

• Since the start of December 2025, only two teams have won fewer points away from home in the Championship than Stoke (8) – West Brom (3) and Sheffield Wednesday (1).

• After scoring five goals in seven Championship starts for Preston between October and December 2025, Daniel Jebbison has only netted in one of his last nine (one goal v Swansea).

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There have been plenty of contentious decisions in the 2025-26 Championship season so far.

Offside goals given, perfectly good goals ruled out, red card offences missed, penalties not given, dubious spot-kicks awarded. You name it.

With the video assistant referee (VAR) only used for the play-off final, the outcome of every second-tier game in the regular season can hinge on how on-field officials see incidents in real time.

• Would you want VAR introduced for every league game in the Championship?

• If so, why?

• And if not, let us know your reasons.

You can share your thoughts on VAR here or comment below, and we will publish a follow-up article soon with a selection of your responses.

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Stoke City forward Million Manhoef says "anything can still happen" over the remaining eight games of the Championship season as the Potters try to keep their hopes of making the play-offs alive.

Stoke are nine points off the top six but took their unbeaten record at home to four games after dispatching Watford 3-1 on Saturday.

Manhoef, who scored twice in the win, bagged his first goals since November.

"I needed a goal," Manhoef told BBC Radio Stoke. "[They were] definitely some good goals and I was pleased for the team and pleased to contribute."

The Dutch winger said he did not "want to go too high or go too low" over Stoke's goalscoring form, which has seen them notch 10 in their unbeaten run at the bet365 Stadium, including six in the last two games.

"It's about the outcomes and [it's] definitely good that we scored some goals in the last couple of games," he said.

"Hopefully we can continue that and also keep the track record of having a very good defensive side. So if we can go into the last eight games with a lot of attacking play and goals, that will be great. There's still eight games so anything can happen.

"I just want to help the team, attacking-wise, defensively and get as many goals and assists as I can and we'll see where we end up."

Stoke's last two results - a 3-3 draw with automatic-promotion chasing Ipswich Town and the victory over the Hornets - have coincided with the return of full-backs Eric Bocat and Junior Tchamadeu after injury.

Previously forced to use centre-backs out wide, Manhoef said the return of right-back Tchamadeu on his flank makes a big difference.

"I missed Junior a lot," he said. "I think we have a good connection, for me to go more narrow and he goes high and he's very good on the ball.

"I did miss him a lot. So it's good that he's back and you can see it flows straight away.

"I think it's just more natural when I play with him. I can play out wide and him inside and I could just go one for one.

"We had centre-backs at right back so it's different for them but we worked through it and hopefully we can carry on this form."

Mark Elliott
BBC Radio Stoke’s Stoke City commentator

Image source, Shutterstock

Full-backs, it turns out, are quite important.

Stoke City have looked like a different team going forward, at least since the return to fitness of two of their natural full-backs in Eric Bocat and Junior Tchamadeu.

Bocat regularly inverting high, almost as a number eight whilst still offering some width and covering defensively on the left helped Stoke break Oxford down a few weeks ago, whilst Tchamadeu has instantly resumed his position as one of the league's most dynamic and threatening right-backs since coming back from an injury suffered at AFCON with Cameroon.

Both were good again against Watford and Stoke have had to be patient not to overuse either as they build up their fitness after injury.

Aaron Cresswell, the club's other senior left-back, is out and at right-back the hole left by Tchamadeu was never successfully filled by a succession of centre-backs playing out of position.

Maksym Talovierov never looked nearly as comfortable on the ball, Ben Wilmot lacked the athleticism to overlap with the same intensity and Bosun Lawal suffered two injuries trying to replicate Tchamadeu's ability to get up and down the touchline.

At times, Ben Gibson, another centre-back has had to play left-back leaving Stoke without any real dynamism coming from full-back on either side and that in turn has hurt their wide forwards.

All of the above did their best to fill in as square pegs in round holes and deserve plenty of credit but the return of Tchamadeu in particular gives Stoke so much more balance.

The Potters injury crisis has affected every area of the pitch but after the win against Watford, Million Manhoef spoke honestly about the additional options he has on the ball and the added threat he feels he can provide from the right wing when he knows Tchamadeu is in the team and will overlap or underlap enthusiastically.

Balance, variety and athleticism were all missing as Stoke slipped down the table either side of new year but six goals in their last two games suggest much of that is back.

Sam Fletcher
Final Score reporter

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Six goals across two back-to-back home games for Stoke City, who breathe a bit of life back into their season.

Sorba Thomas was back in the starting 11 after serving his red card suspension, adding yet another assist to his impressive tally. He won't be credited for the other two goals but his ability to break, read the game and put in successful cross after cross was central to this win for the Potters.

Thomas has amassed more than 300 crosses so far this season, which is 70 more than anyone else in the league. His presence also seemed to give the team confidence to play.

Perhaps there is a light at the end of the tunnel for injury-stricken Stoke as key players start to come back, including Sam Gallagher, who came off the bench to bag the third.

The question is, without the injury issues, and with a player like Sorba Thomas in their ranks, could Stoke have staked their claim in the play-offs?

Stoke City manager Mark Robins has admitted his side's difficulty in their 3-1 win at home to Watford on Saturday.

Potters winger Million Manhoef bagged a brace to give the hosts a 2-0 lead but it was halved by the Hornets' Nestory Irankunda in the final 10 minutes.

Sam Gallagher however allayed any fears of a Watford comeback when he sent the ball flying into the far corner on the 85th minute to seal the three points for Stoke.

"Honestly, I think the game was a tough game," said Robins to BBC Radio Stoke after the game.

"It's a transition game, wasn't it? Because that's how they play. They're the best in the division by data, and you can see why.

"You give the ball away, you commit bodies forward, they leave people up. If you don't get the quality or the connection or the goal, then they're a threat on the counter-attack.

"So we found that really difficult to deal with and gave up some chances early on in the game.

"But when we were good and we were good in possession and calm, we created our own opportunities."

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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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."

Mark Elliot
BBC Radio Stoke commentator

Image source, Shutterstock

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.

• Last-gasp penalty denies Ipswich victory at Stoke

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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Stoke City boss Mark Robins spoke to BBC Radio Stoke following their last-gasp 3-3 draw against Ipswich Town.

"We were brilliant in the first half, transition moments really good, average age of 23, good performances all throughout the team, they were really aggressive and we gave them a lot of problems.

"We didn't really give them anything - they played with the wind in the first half and we played against it - and when we came in at half-time I said 'well done, (we want) more of the same.

"We know the wind is going to be against them, we can't drop too deep, we've got do the same things, keep putting pressure on them and use the ball well, but all the things that are pre-requisites for us, we didn't do.

"To go 3-2 down was really disappointing. (But) Lamine Cisse gets thrown to the ground, it may look a little bit soft but it's our first penalty of the season, Smudge shows good technique and good courage and gains us a point after it looked like we'd snatched defeat from the jaws of victory."