Paul Lambert is hoping his experience of winning at the Emirates Stadium can help Stoke end their miserable away run against Arsenal.
The Potters’ hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League are looking increasingly bleak and history is not on their side for Sunday’s fixture.
Stoke last won at Arsenal in 1981 and have lost on all 15 visits since, including the nine times they have played at the Emirates.
But Lambert can look back to a winning trip with Aston Villa on the first day of the 2013/14 season and will head to north London confident of causing an upset.
He said at a press conference on Wednesday: “It’s a really tough place to go. I’ve been fortunate I’ve won there – I know what it’s like to win there, I know what it’s like to lose there, I know what it’s like to draw there.
“This is new, I’m only new to the football club so what happened in the past is not an interest to me really.
“We’ll make it a really hard game, we’ll go and try and win, like I’ve always done, and it won’t change.
“We have to find a way to hurt them and that’s what we’ll work on when we get the rest of the lads back from their national teams.”
Lambert will be without midfielder Charlie Adam, who begins a three-match ban following his dismissal against Everton, and forward Eric Choupo-Moting, who is set to be sidelined for several weeks by a groin injury.
Mame Biram Diouf should return after shoulder problems while Erik Pieters is back in the squad having been left out against Everton and fined two weeks’ wages for breaking a curfew the night before the match.