Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Stoke are in the hunt to sign Louie Barry on loan next month with Aston Villa planning to recall him from Sheffield United.

The midfielder has not played for the Blades since October and Villa will bring him back and immediately send him back out on loan in January.

Promotion-chasing Stoke, second in the Championship, are among a host of interested clubs which include Derby, Hull and Oxford.

"We are quickly approaching the halfway mark of the season and it's not just the top six, they [Stoke] are second.

"I know Ipswich will have a say in that, they've got a game in hand and look like the team that are making a bit of a move but Stoke are finishing in the top six."

Lucas Yeomans and Stoke City commentator Mark Elliott dissect a fantastic 3-0 performance against Charlton Athletic that sees them up to second on the Championship table and get a little carried away dreaming of a promotion-contending season.

Mark Elliott
BBC Radio Stoke commentator

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Robert Bozenik did not even need to think when asked what he needs to do to take his game to the next level.

"Goals, goals, goals," was the reply.

This is a first league meeting between and Stoke and Charlton for five years and Addicks' boss Nathan Jones will hope it goes better than his last encounter against another of his former clubs.

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Stoke City Under-21s head coach Dave Hibbert has left the side to join Wycombe Wanderers as their first-team set-piece coach.

The 39-year-old took charge of the Potters Premier League 2 team in January and departs after 12 years of service within Stoke's academy.

Former Potters winger Liam Lawrence will take charge of the vacant head coach role in the interim.

Mark Elliott
BBC Radio Stoke commentator

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Leicester had two shots on target and scored each time.

Both, admittedly, came from Stoke City errors in possession. First from Ashley Phillips and then from Bae Junho, but that might actually bolster the case that the Potters were the better side in this one.

The second goal was the real killer, right on half-time but Stoke had enough of the ball and enough chances in the second half to take at least a point.

That they did not leaves them looking to bounce back from two successive defeats but far from disheartened.

Everyone who follows the club knows that Stoke need to be more clinical in front of goal if they are to allow their consistently-outstanding defence the luxury of being able to make the odd error, but on the balance of play they have probably been a clear second best in just two or three games this season.

That said, they are now faced with two big home games and a test of their resolve, something all successful teams need.

Back-to-back defeats can not become a run of three or four without a win, particularly with Charlton the visitors in midweek.

The Addicks travel north having won just one of their last five and having also lost their last two, with a 5-1 reverse at home against Southampton fresh in their minds.

Two good results for Stoke over the next week and the last two games can be forgotten.

If they can recover their momentum quickly the Potters will show they have the strength of character to stay the course, even when things are not going their way.

Image source,Rex Features

Boss Mark Robins said Stoke must make better decisions in the final third following the 2-1 loss away against Leicester City.

"I thought we started off really brightly," Robins told BBC Radio Stoke.

"But you look at the chances we had and the decision making, sometimes it's not the right one. Sometimes we'll take a shot when it's a pass, sometimes we'll pass when it's a shot.

"It's just those mixed up moments, but everybody is allowed to make mistakes, that's the nature of a human being and it's about how you rectify them.

"To give the ball away in an area that then cost us a goal, not just once, but twice, is really frustrating.

"After a really bright start in the first half, you're two goals down going into the second half - right on half-time when you give the second goal away. You know you're going to have a conversation at half-time. They came out and lifted the performance; it was more like us."

If you're wondering where your team is going to finish in the Championship this season, you no longer need to worry.

Well, kind of.

Opta's supercomputer has worked its magic to figure out the most likely final league position of every team - and the chances each has of being promoted, making the play-offs or getting relegated.

Who is most likely to win automatic promotion?

It will come as no surprise that leadersCoventry are heavy favourites for the title (69.3%) and also have the highest chance of automatic promotion (84.2%) to the Premier League.

The next most likely to go straight up, with a 30.8% chance, areMiddlesbrough. Despite currently sitting seventh and six points behind Boro in second,Ipswich are expected to be the third favourites for a top two finish (18.9%) followed byStoke (14.1%).

Even though they've each enjoyed a strong start to the campaign,Preston (10.3%),Hull (6.1%) andMillwall (8.3%) have slimmer chances of finishing in an automatic promotion spot.

Who will make the play-offs?

Image source,Rex Features

Even if Coventry don't win automatic promotion, Opta's supercomputer has given the Sky Blues a 97.9% chance of a top-six finish, suggesting it's almost guaranteed.

Each of Middlesbrough, Ipswich, Preston and Stoke are expected to finish in a minimum of a play-off position at least one in two times.

Hull might feel the hardest done by as they sit fifth currently, but are said to have less chance (32.3%) than Millwall (38.8%) andCharton (32.4%), who are below them in the table.

The most likely of the chasing pack to make a surge up the table are 12th-placedLeicester City, who have been given a 31.8% chance of finishing in the top six and are more likely thanBristol City(28.9%),Derby (22.9%) andBirmingham(19.9%).

Last season's beaten play-off finalistsSheffield United have just a 1.8% chance of recovering their season to make the play-offs again, while relegated Premier League sideSouthampton (12.5%) aren't likely to either... if you trust the supercomputer!

Who is going down?

Image source,Rex Features

It's probably not hard to work out who is most likely to finish bottom and be relegated to League One.

Sheffield Wednesday's 12-point deduction, which has left them 17 points adrift of safety on -4 points, means they're pretty much nailed on to finish bottom (84.8%) - and failing that, are almost certain to go down (98.2%).

Second from bottomNorwich are the next most likely candidates to fall through the trap door (58.5%) but Sheffield United, who currently occupy the final relegation spot, have just a 22.4% chance of going down and are considered more likely to stay up thanOxford (37.8%) andPortsmouth (31.3%).

Leicester City return to Championship action after the international break as they welcome high-flying Stoke City to the King Power on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Foxes lie 12th, four points below the play-off places, having come from behind to claim a dramatic late win at Norwich in their final game before the break to end a five-match winless run in which they claimed just two points.

Off the back of three straight wins, the Potters went down to a late winner at home to leaders Coventry last time out and slipped to third, two points behind second-placed Middlesbrough.

• Leicester City have won their past two league games against Stoke and are looking for three consecutive wins over the Potters for the first time since March 1977.

• Stoke City have won one of their past 12 league games against Leicester (D6 L5), winning 1-0 in the Premier League back in January 2015.

• Leicester go into this game six points behind Stoke in the Championship table. The Foxes have won just one of their past 25 league games when trailing a side by 6+ points in the table going into the game (D4 L20), winning 2-1 at Tottenham in January.

• Stoke have won their past two away league games and are looking to win three in a row for the first time since a run of four in November/December 2005. They've already won as many away games in 2025/26 as they managed in the entirety of 2024/25 (4).

• Leicester's Abdul Fatawu ranks first for ball carries (291), shots after a ball carry (28) and ball carry distance (3,448 metres) in the Championship this season.

Stoke City loanee Jamie Donley opened his international account during Northern Ireland's final World Cup qualifier on Monday night.

"I think there's a fair chance that Stoke City get promoted this season.

"A third of the way into the season, we are in third - it's in Stoke's hands, it's not as if they are relying on other teams to drop points here, they are massively in it. It's going to be themselves who mess this opportunity up if anything."

With a third of the season put into past tense, Lucas Yeomans and Ben Rowley take a look at Stoke City's promotion chances following last weekend's defeat by league leaders Coventry City.

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Stoke City boss Mark Robins said his side were not at their best but were unlucky to lose out to his former club Coventry City.

Ephron Mason-Clark grabbed a late winner in a tight game of few chances.

"I think the manner of the defeat is even more difficult to take," Robins told BBC Radio Stoke. "I'm disappointed with the result, I'm not disappointed with the effort we showed – the lads have given everything and we've been really competitive.

"I can't remember any clear-cut chances that they had – there was some good play but they play for corners, long throws and put you under pressure that way.

"We didn't mark properly from the long throw and we got punished for it, that's the disappointment for us.

"In terms of overall play, it was pretty nip and tuck but we had the best chance of the game with Mill (Manhoef) right in front of the goal from a Sorba Thomas cross and we didn't take it.

"That was huge – had we taken that, it could have been slightly different. I thought one or two were off it today, we didn't get enough of a spark when we needed that."

Mark Robins says he wishes he could bottle the current feeling around Stoke City as he prepares for a reunion with former club Coventry.

The Sky Blues are top of the Championship, four points ahead of the second-placed Potters, who have won their past three games, scoring nine goals and conceding only one, to boast the Championship's meanest defence.

Robins was sacked by Coventry a year ago on Friday after seven-and-a-half years at the helm but says that doesn't give any extra significance to Saturday's clash at the Bet365 Stadium (15:00 GMT).