Stoke have troubles of their own - in their past five league matches they have drawn two, lost two, won one and scored 0, 1, 0, 1 and 1 goal - but will want to get something from this game with Manchester City and Chelsea awaiting in their next two fixtures: they have lost all six games against the current top five this season, conceding 23 times, equivalent to 82% of Boro's total goals-against tally.