Hello and welcome to live coverage of Stoke City v Manchester City.

Sterling runs with the ball, collecting a knockdown on the edge of the box, but he overruns it and Stoke have a goal kick.

Bauer runs across to the left to put the ball out of play. It's worked to Silva, but his cross from the byline goes behind for a goal kick.

GOAL! Stoke City 0-1 Manchester City. Silva scores - Sterling is released down the right, behind the defence, and he squares a cross for Silva to sidefoot past Butland.

Joe Allen intercepts a Sane pass and finds Jese to the left. He attempts to break, but Walker is across to put it out of play.

A dinked free kick into the box is cleared by Stoke, and Sane has to use his pace to get there first, and play the ball back to Ederson.

Stoke are happy to sit back. A point would be enough, and a surprise, to keep them in contention of staying up, given how tight the league is from seventh down.

City attack down the right with Walker, but then keep possession with quick passing to nowhere in particular.

Manchester City are in charge of the ball. You're shocked, I know, I can tell.

The match gets underway.

Send your comments and considered thoughts to @lxndrnthrtn for me to post tonight.

If Stoke absolutely smash City tonight, they could go 16th, above Manchester City. Do you fancy a Choup-Moting hat-trick?

Pep Guardiola will be the centre of attention as he will reveal if he is to continue wearing his yellow ribbon in support of those suffering human rights abuse in Abu Dhabi.

Should Manchester City win they will go 16 points clear.

Stoke City do their usual, which is to say: it's a pretty prosaic line-up that isn't going to entertain. Geoff Cameron is there, doing his usual of being like James Milner only less so. Manchester City are heavy favourites.

Raheem Sterling is back for Manchester City, though Sergio is out. Gabriel Jesus is picked to lead the line, and Yaya Toure gets to make an appearance on the bench. The weak link is Vincent Kompany, but even he is pretty solid at the moment.

The big news of the day, obviously, is the hoo-ha over Jamie Carragher gobbing at people.

TEAMS: Stoke City: Butland; Bauer, Zouma, M. Indi, Stafylidis; Badou, Cameron, Allen; Shaqiri, Jese, Choupo-Moting. Subs: Haugaard, Adam, Johnson, Shawcross, Fletcher, Crouch, Ramadan. /// Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling, Sane, Jesus. Subs: Bravo, Danilo, Stones, Gundogan, Laporte, Bernardo, Yaya Toure