Tune in at 10:00 AM ET as Stoke takes on Man City. Jack Goodson will be liveblogging for your enjoyment.
Preamble: Welcome back to The Score's ongoing coverage of the Barclays Premier League. Today we have Stoke City hosting the reigning champions, Manchester City, at the Britannia Stadium. Last year, this fixture produced the goal of the season for my money - Peter Crouch's wonderful volley from an absurd angle - and, ultimately, a share of the points.
Whether we're in for something similar - of if I'm actually able to find a stream of this match - remains to be seen. Either way, it should be entertaining. There are a host of debuts on both sides, with new signings Scott Sinclair, Maicon and Javi Garcia all in the starting XI for City today.
Team sheets
Stoke City
Begovic; Wilkinson, Shawcross (c), Huth, Wilson; Walters, Whelan, N'Zonzi, Adam, Kightly; Crouch. Bench: Sorensen, Cameron, Owen, Whitehead, Upson, Etherington, Jerome.
Manchester City
Hart; Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Garcia,Y Toure, Nasri; Tevez, Sinclair, Balotelli. Bench: Wright, Kolarov, K Toure, Barry, Rodwell, Silva, Dzeko.
Team news: All you need to know is Michael Owen is on the Stoke bench. Someone get a hold of the odds on him scoring on his debut, and pass them on as soon as possible. No, if you are wondering, The Score does not condone my betting habits.
Something that will make you feel good: Stoke played "You'll Never Walk Alone" during the pre-match as a mark of respect to the 96 who lost their lives at Hillsborough. That's pure class.
Handshake gate: If you were wondering - if you even care - Anton Ferdinand did not shake John Terry's hand. He didn't shake Ashley Cole's, either. Let's hope we can finally move on from this now.
1min: And we're off at the Britannia. City get us underway; they are moving from right to left.
2min: Balotelli produces a stellar turn to highlight a decent counter attack from the visitors, but his through ball toward Tevez is cut out. The Italian is back on the ball moments later - down the left channel - and again fails to find Tevez.
3min: Charlie Adam and Steven Nzonzi are making their debuts for the hosts, who have started pretty brightly here.
4min: Sinclair pops up on the left side of the box. He looked for Balotelli in the center of the six with a chipped pass, but Huth was in a good position to hack the danger clear.
5min: This is almost a stunning goal. Tevez broke from the left side of midfield toward goal, holding off the continuous barrage of Nzonzi from behind before launching a curling shot about a yard wide of the near post. City win a corner through the shot as it deflected at the source.
8min: It hasn't taken City long to settle in at the Britannia. They are monopolizing possession at this stage, with Stoke happy to win the ball back and quickly launch it up field toward Crouch. This has been hardly successful thus far.
9min: A brief spell of possession for Stoke ends with Clichy smartly nicking the ball off Kightly on the right side. It really is all City at the moment.
11min: A poor crossing pass from Maicon following his over lap on the right side allows Stoke to break on the counter. The hosts end up with a free kick, too, after Kompany lunged in on Kightly. The free kick will be from about 35 yards.
12min: Adam takes, as you'd expect. The former Blackpool and Liverpool man gets it all wrong, however, sending a low, shallow ball in that doesn't even beat the first man. He'll want to forget his first set piece for his new club rather quickly.
13min: Stoke have another free kick. This one is in an even better position, out on the right side. This is almost like a corner. Whelan takes this time and while his delivery is better than Adam's, it's only marginally so. Hart makes an easy claim in the center of his area.
14min: This is a good spell for Stoke. Nzonzi, who has been active early on in his Stoke debut, wins a corner for the hosts. Adam takes the corner, looking for Crouch at the near post.
GOAL, 15min - Stoke 1-0 City: And it's Crouch again against City! The visitors initially managed to deal with the Adam delivery, but failed to clear the ball out of the box. They paid dearly for that, too, with Crouch picking up the pieces in the center of the box and showing good chest control in a crowd before slotting low past Hart at his near post.
17min: The Britannia was in good voice before the goal. Now, well, they are rampant.
18min: Clichy all of a sudden is alone with Begovic in the box, but he was a mile offside. That's an easy call for the linesman.
19min: A replay of the goal shows that Crouch may well have used a bit of a hand in controlling the ball in the middle of the box. City supporters can be somewhat aggrieved.
@Aayush: I'm sorry, but I do not know what channel this match is being televised in India.
21min: Crouch takes a barge into the back leaping for a high ball. Stoke want a free kick, but they don't need one as the ball fell for Adam on the edge of the box. He swiveled and struck for goal, but the shot was ballooned into the stands. Not the kind of finish you're looking for.
22min: Balotelli nearly levels the match in an instant. He picked up a pass from Tevez in the box, on the right side, turned and launched a laser a yard, maybe two yards, over the crossbar. The Italian was able to generate tremendous power on the shot despite not having much room in which to work.
25min: Patient buildup from the visitors. Stoke are dealing with this well, though, with Wilson eventually winning the ball back and hoofing it up field. And so City start again.
26min: Nzonzi is having a great debut here. He sprints in to win the ball with his head at midfield, but his chipped pass toward Adam, advancing down the left, was just a tad overhit. Still, the former Blackburn midfielder looks a great signing for Tony Pulis thus far.
28min: I wonder what Maicon is making of the Premier League. More specifically, I wonder what he's making of Stoke and the Britannia. It hasn't been a welcoming start for the Brazilian, with Wilson knocking him around whenever he gets the chance.
29min: It's been a quiet debut for Sinclair as well. The former Chelsea and Swansea City winger has been limited to only a few touches if my memory serves me correct.
30min: Adam puts his arm around Toure's head, resulting in a free kick for City. The set piece is about 35 yards from goal, just to the left of the D. Toure decides to have a crack at goal, his shot curling well wide. That's a waste of an opening if you ask me.
31min: Wilkinson barges in on Sinclair, who was back doing some defending in his own half, resulting in a corner for Stoke. We all remember what they did from their last set piece.
32min: Crouch is extremely close to getting his head onto Adam's delivery. It wouldn't have matter had he did, though, as the referee blew his whistle for some kind of infraction in the box. I haven't a clue what that was about.
34min: The Stoke players have to be loving this. There's no real tempo to City's buildup, allowing them to sit back in a comfortable manner and soak up the pressure. It's all really simple for the hosts, at least for the moment.
35min Balotelli hits the ground under a challenge from Wilkinson. That's terrific strength from the Italian resulting in a foul. Can City take advantage of the free kick?
GOAL, 35min - Stoke 1-1 City: Yes they can! And it's Garcia scoring on his debut!
35min: Garcia was unmarked in the center of the box. He did well, too, guiding his header past Begovic from about eight yards.
36min: Stoke were the makers of their own undoing on the equalizer. No one picked up Garcia and he made them pay.
Preamble: Welcome back to The Score's ongoing coverage of the Barclays Premier League. Today we have Stoke City hosting the reigning champions, Manchester City, at the Britannia Stadium. Last year, this fixture produced the goal of the season for my money - Peter Crouch's wonderful volley from an absurd angle - and, ultimately, a share of the points.
