Manchester City - v - Stoke City

• And we are off! It is a wonderful day at the Etihad, as the hosts kick-off, moving left to right in their all light blue kits, while Stoke are sporting their red and white striped tops.
• STAT ATTACK: Manchester City and Stoke City's last six head-to-head meetings have seen just nine goals scored, an average of 1.5 per game.
• Some real attacking changes in place as Mark Hughes looks for some skill and speed on the counter attack. Jonathan Walters, Viktor Moses and Peter Crouch start in a brand new front three, behind Mame Diouf, in place of Marko Arnautovic, Peter Odemwingie and Steve Sidwell.
• STOKE CITY SUBS: Huth, Muniesa, Odemwingie, Arnautovic, Adam, Bojan, Sorensen.
• STOKE CITY (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Bardsley, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters; Whelan, N'Zonzi; Walters, Crouch, Moses; Diouf.
• Pellegrini has made three changes to the team that beat Liverpool on Monday. Wing-backs Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy make way for Aleksandr Kolarov and Bacary Sagna, who makes his first Premier League start with City. Meanwhile Edin Dzeko, who picked up a bit of a knock last week, starts on the bench and Sergio Aguero comes on in his place.
• MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Zabaleta, Dzeko, Milner, Caballero, Navas, Clichy, Fernandinho.
• MANCHESTER CITY (4-4-1-1): Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov; Nasri, Fernando, Toure, Silva; Jovetic; Aguero.
• The teams have been announced, so let us have ourselves a look at the starting line-ups:
• Stoke have stumbled their way through the opening two matches. A late Ryan Shawcross equalizer at the KC Stadium on Sunday rescued a point for the Potters, their first of the season after dropping their opening match, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa. Their new summer signings have yet to make an impact, but an adjustment period is to be expected. The question remains, how long will it take?
• The defending champions have looked exactly as such, a few weeks into the new season. Their dismantling of Liverpool on Monday was a statement of intent issued by the Sky Blues to the rest of the league. Two wins from two games, and a plus four goal differential has Manuel Pellegrini's men perched atop the table, right where they left off last season.
• Good afternoon Premier League fans around the world, and welcome to the Etihad, where the defending champions Manchester City get set to host Stoke City. I am Alex Moretto and I will be your in-game host, guiding you through the match LIVE as it happens!