Town will remain unchanged when they face Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium in Tuesday night's top of the table clash (KO 7.45pm). Fabian Wilnis, Tommy Miller and Drissa Diallo are not expected to be affected by slight knocks picked up in the Millwall game.

The only change to Town's squad is Scott Mitchell coming in for Scott Barron who has a slight groin injury.

Shefki Kuqi is likely to keep his place in the starting line-up despite Pablo Couñago's performance as a sub in Sunday. Stoke are one of the more physical sides in the division and Kuqi will probably get the nod ahead of the Spaniard.

Manager Joe Royle says Town now need to consolidate their position at the top of the Championship table: "The easy part, if you like, is to get there. The harder part is staying there, although it's a nice position to find ourselves in and the players deserve a great deal of praise.

"I hope fans are enjoying the fact that we are number one and, while we are only seven games into the season, I'm not going to discount or discredit our achievement.

"But there's no doubt that there's greater expectancy of us as league leaders, while it also provides greater motivation for our opponents."

Town had Stoke watched in their 3-0 defeat at Preston when the Blues' representative felt Tony Pulis's side were unlucky to lose.

Royle doesn't expect the third-placed Potters to be an easy touch: "Any side managed by Tony Pulis is hard to beat. They will be well-prepared, well-drilled and looking to bounce back in front of their home crowd."

It will be a particularly big Britannia Stadium crowd with the Potters pricing tickets at £5 across the board, including away fans. An attendance above the 20,000 mark is expected.

Manager Pulis was disappointed that his side lost their unbeaten run at Deepdale on Saturday: "The Preston result was a disappointment, although I felt 3-0 was an unfair reflection on the game, but what an opportunity we have to bounce straight back with a home game against Ipswich on Tuesday and, with the reduced admission prices, the prospect of a huge crowd behind us.

"It wasn't a good afternoon for us, though I think the final score flattered Preston. One thing is sure, though, the players will come out against Ipswich and give it a real good go."

Pulis has added former Leicester and Port Vale winger Steve Guppy to his squad on a short-term deal but has lost loanee defender Chris Barker who has been recalled by Cardiff.

Midfielder Lewis Neal missed the trip to Preston with a knee injury, while former Coventry man John Eustace is a long-term absentee with a groin problem.

Tuesday's referee is Mike Dean from the Wirral. As befits a top of the table clash, Dean is on the Premiership list of officials.

So far this season he has shown nine yellow cards and no red in three games, including the Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium. He last refereed Town in the 4-2 loss at Burnley last season.

Squad: Bent, Bowditch, Couñago, Davis, Diallo, De Vos, Dinning, Horlock, Kuqi, Magilton, Miller, Mitchell, Naylor, Price, Richards, Westlake and Wilnis.

Photo: Action Images

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