Official name: Stoke City Football Club
Nicknames: The Potters
Founded: 1863. Stoke City is the oldest club in the English Premier League.
Stadium: Britannia Stadium (pictured, above). Stoke City's stadium opened in August 1997 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The stadium's capacity is 27,740.
History: Stoke City was promoted to the English Premier League, the highest tier of English soccer, after finishing in second place in the Football League Championship in the 2007-08 season. The Potters have never participated in the UEFA Champions League, but advanced to the finals of the 2010-11 FA Cup, falling 1-0 to Manchester City. Stoke City has participated in the UEFA Cup / Europa League three times, falling to German club FC Kaiserslautern in 1972-73 and Dutch club Ajax in 1974-75 and Spanish club Valencia in in the round of 32 in 2011-12.
Manager: Tony Pulis has managed Stoke City since 2006 after having previously managed the Potters from 2002-05. The Welsh manager made more than 300 appearances in his playing career for five different clubs. Pulis became a manager full-time in 1992 when he replaced Harry Redknapp at Bournemouth. Over his 23-year managerial career, Pulis is 327-297-267.
Current campaign: This year, Stoke is 9-13-13 in league play and have allowed the sixth fewest goals (41 goals in 35 games) in the Premier League in 2012-13. Stoke City advanced to the fourth round of this year's FA Cup, falling 1-0 to Manchester City on January 26.
Key players: Stoke City's attack is led by Jonathan Walters (seven goals this season) and Peter Crouch (six goals this season). Crouch is a veteran of the English Premier League, with 164 goals in all competitions during his 15-year career. The six-foot-seven striker has also represented the English national team 42 times, scoring 22 goals and featuring in two World Cup (2006 and 2010).
Walters joined Stoke in 2010 after scoring 30 goals in 136 games for Ipswich Town. The Republic of Ireland international has featured 17 times for his national team and has scored four goals. Most recently, Walter scored two goals in a 2-2 draw against Austria in a World Cup qualifying match.
The captain: The captain of Stoke City is Ryan Shawcross, a 25-year-old defender who played in the Manchester United youth system. Shawcross was originally brought to Stoke on loan in 2007, but saw his rights purchased by the Potters in 2008. Since then, Shawcross has featured 178 times for the club and has scored 10 goals.
Shawcross made his debut for the English national team in a friendly against Sweden on November 14, 2012.
