Plymouth Argyle vs Stoke City Prediction: Schumacher will be facing former club

Plymouth Argyle will host Stoke City at Home Park in Game Week 4 of the English Championship. Schumacher facing his formal club will be a sight to watch. Who will emerge on top after the minutes are over?

Plymouth Argyle go into this game with their chests high, having taken something from each but one of the games since that 4-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on the opening weekend. They achieved credible draws 1-1 with both Hull City and Queens Park Rangers, perhaps even more impressively given they had to play more than an hour with just 10 men in that latter draw.

Wayne Rooney's Plymouth side did lose 2-0 to Watford in the EFL Cup second round but a little context is required, given Watford have a perfect record in all competitions so far this season. Yet again, Plymouth have been good at Home Park, not tasting defeat in the last five games there.

 Hazard; Edwards, Gibson, Galloway, Mumba; Randell, Forshaw; Whittaker, Gyabi, Cissoko; Hardie

Steven Schumacher is back at Plymouth with Stoke City, who have had a pretty indifferent start to the season. After wins in the first two games of the campaign, the Potters lost successive matches to Watford and West Bromwich Albion, falling towards the bottom end of the table.

But it was a different story on Tuesday night when Stoke beat Middlesbrough 5-0 at Riverside. There were great performances all over the park in this match, particularly by youngsters Lewis Koumas and Emre Tezgel, who will play more frequently for the first team in the second half of the season.

This would be Stoke's fourth major trip away from home this month, after Carlisle United, Watford, and Middlesbrough, which means that fatigue factor and the subsequent travels may play their role in this coming fixture.

Johansson; Tchamadeu, Wilmot, Gibson, Bocat; Laurent, Thompson; Manhoef, Moran, Gooch; Koumas. 

Plymouth Argyle are keen to keep Morgan Whittaker, who has attracted interest from Burnley, at the club as they begin preparations for their next match. Adam Forshaw returns after being suspended for one game and is expected to slot back into central midfield, regardless of whether Wayne Rooney goes with a back three or four.

Ryan Hardie will most likely lead the attack up front, but the fact that Michael Obafemi played the full 90 minutes away at Watford recently will have little bearing. Andrew Moran, Emre Tezgel, and Ryan Mmaee are all in form for Stoke of late and will be knocking on the door. Moran, in particular, is in with a good chance of starting after his three assists midweek; Bae Jun-ho will probably drop to the bench.

Another pair of candidates for the start in midfield are certainly Wouter Berger and Sol Sidibe. With the return of Steven Schumacher to Plymouth, extra heat is sure to add some more into the mix and should make this match at Home Park a really exciting one. The advantage will probably help Plymouth at crucial times, but Stoke's attacking talent should prove too much in the end.