Squad sheets: Stoke City v Arsenal

An intriguing fixture between two clubs with a well-documented dislike for one another. Arsenal need to get their season up and running after last Saturday's goalless draw against Sunderland and it would be a huge boost to Arsène Wenger and his players if they picked up three points at the Britannia Stadium. Stoke, however, will relish the chance to make life uncomfortable for Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud et al. Tony Pulis, Stoke's manager, will be forced to make at least one change, with Dean Whitehead suspended following his dismissal at Reading. Stuart James Venue Britannia Stadium, Sunday 1.30pm Tickets £40-50 (01782 367599) Last season Stoke 1 Arsenal 1 Referee Lee Mason This season's matches 1 Y 2, R 0, 2.00 cards per game Odds Stoke 13-5 Arsenal 5-2 Draw 12-5 Stoke Subs from Sorensen, Shotton, Delap, Huddlestone, Jerome, Higginbotham, Pennant, Jones, Cameron, Upson, Ness Doubtful Pennant (thigh) Injured None Suspended Whitehead (one match) Form guide D Disciplinary record Y4 R1 Leading scorer Kightly 1 Arsenal Subs from Fabianski, Mannone, Park, Djourou, Yennaris, Coquelin, Squillaci, André Santos, Ramsey, Arshavin, Giroud, Chamakh, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Bendtner Doubtful Szczesny (rib) Injured Koscielny (calf, 2 Sep), Rosicky (achilles, 15 Sep), Sagna (broken leg, 15 Sep), Frimpong (knee, Oct), Wilshere (foot, Oct) Suspended None Form guide D Disciplinary record Y0 R0 Leading scorer n/a Match pointers • Stoke have scored first in all five home games they have played against Arsenal in all competitions under Tony Pulis, and on four occasions inside the first 11 minutes • Robin van Persie (30 goals, nine assists) and Alex Song (one goal, 11 assists) played a part in 47 of Arsenal's 74 Premier League goals (64%) last season • Stoke are unbeaten in their past seven home games but have drawn the last three • Santi Cazorla created more scoring chances (nine) than any other player in the first round of matches, although none of them were taken • In 2011-12 Stoke scored the highest percentage of goals from set-pieces (58 per cent) while Arsenal had the lowest ratio of goals from dead-ball situations (14 per cent)