Stoke vs Man City: 5 Key Battles

3. Adam v Toure

Yaya Toure and Charlie Adam will come up against each other in the centre of midfield at 3pm on Saturday and it will be a battle of whoever can adapt the best to the game. Ivorian Yaya visits the Britannia Stadium off the back of a goal in his last Premiership match, in City's 2-0 win against Hull. Toure is an absolute powerhouse; it is seemingly likely that the Ivorian is realistically the only forward-thinking player that Manchester City have that can challenge Stoke's physicality. The steam-rolling central midfielder will be looking to prove his masculinity against a brutal Stoke side. Whilst Stoke are definitely a physical team, Charlie Adam doesn't quite fit the bill. He can throw himself into a challenge but he isn't the big bruising midfielder that you'd expect from Stoke, combine that with the fact that he can pick an exquisite pass to carve open a defence and strike a sweet free-kick and he brings something different to Stoke's game. To deal with Yaya Toure, Adam will have to think smart and use his experience - a rash challenge that we have seen he is prone to could leave Stoke completely exposed.