Preview: Stoke v Wolves

Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers looks ahead to the game.

Preamble

On June 1 if you'd put a bet on who Benik Afobe would be playing for at the Bet365 Stadium tomorrow there'd have only been one contender.

Fast forward to July 25 and Afobe will be lining up in the red and white of Stoke City instead of Wolves, after his £12m move to the Staffordshire club (which will officially go through in January).

But for Wolves the 'Benik Afobe derby' is a sideshow to the main event of continuing their pre-season preparations, with the big Premier League kick off only two and a half weeks away.

Stoke represent another stern test in what's been a pre-season full of them – and Wolves are yet to be beaten, conceding only two goals so far.

Team news

Barry Douglas and Leo Bonatini haven't featured since Switzerland, with the Scot suffering from a muscle strain which isn't expected to keep him out for long. Bonatini has been sidelined with an unspecified knock, but wing back Oskar Buur Rasmussen is fit again after a glute problem.

New signings Rui Patricio and Raul Jimenez both made their first appearances in gold and black during Sunday's H-Hotels Cup games in Germany, which saw Wolves draw 0-0 against Real Betis and Bochum in 45-minute fixtures.

Joao Moutinho is poised to sign tonight (Tuesday) and full-back Jonny Castro is set to follow tomorrow but this game may come too soon for both.

Nuno fielded two XIs in those Germany matches but it's likely he'll play a first choice team here and give them closer to 90 minutes, as was the case in last Thursday's 1-1 draw against Ajax when six players featured for 84 minutes.

Romain Saiss is set to continue at centre half with the Moroccan having being pinpointed as switching positions this season.

After this Wolves have two pre-season games remaining – they travel to Derby on Saturday and then host Villarreal on August 4.

Title favourites

After 10 years in the top flight Stoke dropped out of the Premier League last season – but are favourites to bounce back at the first opportunity.

Gary Rowett replaced ex-Wolves boss Paul Lambert in the hot seat this summer and with the squad at his disposal it's clear why they're well fancied to win promotion.

As well as Afobe, the likes of Joe Allen, Bojan, Ryan Shawcross, Peter Crouch, Darren Fletcher, Bruno Martins Indi, Charlie Adam and Saido Berahino all have top flight experience, while Jack Butland is still with the Potters although it's expected he'll move on before the window closes.

Wingers Tom Ince and James McClean have signed this week for fees of £10m and £5m respectively, joining keeper Adam Federici and Nigerian midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo as summer signings.

Stoke began their pre-season campaign by beating Walsall 3-0 but have since lost to Bochum (0-2), SV Meppen (0-1) and Hamburg (1-2). Their last pre-season fixture is at German side FC St Pauli on Saturday.

Ground guide

Wolves last visited Stoke in January 2017 for a memorable 2-0 FA Cup third round victory when Helder Costa and Matt Doherty were on the scoresheet.

It's an all-ticket game with no tickets available on the gate.

How to keep track

The Express & Star will be carrying live tweets from Tim Spiers and Nathan Judah through the game, plus there'll be a detailed match report and the usual post-match reaction and analysis.

Kick off is 7.45pm.