Wonderful save from Valdes!!! Ramadan once again involved as he plays Afellay clean through on goal, but Valdes reads the midfielder’s poked effort really well and gets down to his left to keep the score at 2-0.
90' +2
Huge appeals for a Stoke penalty as Ramadan goes on an outstanding run before pulling the ball back towards Allen who flicks the ball towards goal from five yards out, only for it to be blocked by a sliding Gibson, with Stoke players feeling he used his arm to do so.
90' +1
There’s going to be five minutes of added time to be played.
89'
Middlesbrough are awarded a free-kick 40 yards out from goal which Guedioura takes, but the delivery isn’t great and Stoke are comfortably able to head the ball clear.
87'
I. Afellay enters the game and replaces B. Martins Indi.
Martins Indi isn’t going to be able to continue and Ibrahim Afellay comes on in his place, meaning Cameron will drop back into the centre of defence alongside Shawcross.
85'
Martins Indi has gone with a nasty looking knee injury sustained as he stretched to clear the ball. He looks in some discomfort here and may well have to leave the field.
84'
Super save from Valdes!! Cameron picks out Ramadan who is unmarked at the back post, and his downwards header looks to be heading for the bottom corner but Valdes gets down really well to his left to keep it out.
83'
Stuani and Gestede combine well to lay the ball off for Guedioura on the edge of the Stoke penalty box, but the substitute’s curling effort goes well over the bar and into the crowd.
81'
Middlesbrough look to break forward through Traore down the right, but once again the final ball into the middle is a poor one and Diouf is able to bring the ball away for Stoke on the far side.
79'
S. Berahino enters the game and replaces P. Crouch.
Another change for Stoke now as Crouch, who took a nasty blow to the leg just moments ago, is replaced by Saido Berahino.
Minute
Description
78'
M. de Roon gets yellow.
De Roon has been shown a yellow card for dissent towards the referee.
77'
That change doesn’t appear to have gone down too well with Alvaro Negredo on the bench, who is sat shaking his head knowing he won’t be coming on now.
75'
A. Guédioura enters the game and replaces G. Leadbitter.
Aitor Karanka is making his final change now as Leadbitter is replaced by Adlène Guédioura in midfield.
74'
Stoke have regained control of this game again and Allen has a half-chance to make it 3-0 as Diouf fires a low cross in to towards him from the right, but the Welshman fails to make a clan connection with his shot from 12 yards out and Middlesbrough survive once again.
72'
Traore concedes a needless foul on Pieters close to the left-hand corner flag in the Middlesbrough half and Stoke will have another chance to put the ball into the middle. That was a challenge born out of frustration from Traore as the Stoke left-back was going nowhere, but fortunately for Traore the free-kick comes to nothing.
70'
Middlesbrough have certainly improved in the last quarter of an hour, and are getting more runners up in support of Gestede, but they’re still struggling to create any real threat on Grant’s goal.
68'
Stuani appears to be bundled to the floor by Diouf as he makes a driving run down the left-hand side but instead referee Pawson penalises the winger for handball as he falls to ground. That looked harsh but he’s certainly looked lively since coming on has Stuani.
67'
Gestede flicks the ball into the Stoke penalty box with a header and Leadbitter gets on the end of it but is denied by Grant, who came off his line quickly to smother the effort and has taken a blow in the process. It looks as though he's going to be fine to continue though.
65'
M. Diouf enters the game and replaces M. Arnautović.
Stoke are going to be forced into making their first change now as Arnautovic leaves the field with a knock. Mame Biram Diouf is the man who comes on to replace him.
63'
Arnautovic skips away from Friend and chips the ball to Ramadan at the far post but the ball won’t sit down for the Egyptian and the Middlesbrough defence are able to get back and clear the ball. Cameron then regains possession for Stoke and picks out Crouch who is denied by Valdes from close range, but the flag is up anyway so the goal wouldn’t have counted.
62'
Stuani goes from goal from 25 yards out but doesn’t get enough bend on the ball and it goes well wide of Grant’s goal. The last five minutes have been much better from the visitors though.
60'
Disallowed goal!! Leadbitter swings in a free-kick from the right after a foul on Traore the right-hand side, but the flag goes up for offside as Gibson slides the ball into the back of the net from close range!
58'
Allen plays a lovely one-two with Arnautovic on the edge of the box before winning his side a corner on the left hand side. Gestede heads the corner clear at the near post but that was a nice bit of play from the two Stoke midfielders, who are getting beyond Crouch really well at the moment.
56'
A half-chance for Martins Indi as he gets up well to meet Whelan’s corner seven yards out from goal, but he fails to get a good connection on the header and it slides across the face of goal and out of play.
55'
Middlesbrough win a free-kick in a good position in the middle of the field, but Leadbitter takes it short to Traore on the right, and Ramadan then tackles the winger extremely well as he looks to get down the outside of him.
53'
Gestede does well to hold the ball up just inside his own half and draws the foul from Pieters. The fact that he’s had to drop so deep to get the ball will be a concern for Middlesbrough though.
51'
It looks as though Stuani has gone out to that left-hand side in a straight swap for Ramirez, but Aitor Karanka will certainly be looking for him to get into the box to support Gestede, particularly if Middlesbrough can free up Traore down the right-hand side.
49'
Friend, who endured a difficult first half, has space to cross from the left but wastes the opportunity by hitting it straight out for a goal kick. You feel if Middlesbrough are going to get back into this game they’re going to need to get better service into Gestede.
47'
Arnautovic has acres of space on the right to whip in a cross towards Crouch, but Bernardo intercepts in at the near post and diverts the ball out for a corner. Whelan then finds Crouch from the corner but the striker is going away from goal and his header is a weak one, making it easy for Valdes to gather in.
46'
C. Stuani enters the game and replaces G. Ramírez.
Middlesbrough are making one change at the break, with Cristhian Stuani coming on in place of Ramirez, who was pretty ineffectual in the first half.
Kick-off! Cameron gets the second half underway for Stoke.
45' +2
G. Friend gets yellow.
Johnson nutmegs Friend before being pulled back by the left-back, who is subsequently shown a yellow card by referee Pawson.
45' +1
We’re into two minutes of added time at the bet365 Stadium.
44'
It’s been a good response from Middlesbrough with their travelling fans chanting for their side to attack, but the final ball from Traore is easily cleared by Martins Indi, with only Gestede in the middle to aim for.
42'
M. Arnautović has scored a goal for Stoke City! Assist by P. Crouch.
Crouch did the sensible thing there by simply heading the ball into a dangerous area.
GOOOAAALLLLLLL!!! Arnautovic doubles Stoke’s lead! Whelan swings in a corner from the right after Allen’s cross had been well blocked by Friend, and Crouch rises highest at the far post to head the ball into the middle of the six yard box, where the Austrian winger is waiting to flick the ball past Valdes and into the back of the net.
39'
Close!! The closest Middlesbrough have come so far as Leadbitter’s 30-yard effort deflects narrowly wide of the goal with Grant scrambling frantically across his goal. Leadbitter then heads over to take the corner himself and picks out Ramirez on the edge of the box, but his first-time volley goes high over Grant’s goal.
37'
Leadbitter gives the ball away cheaply to Crouch just inside the Stoke half but the striker can’t pick out Allen who’d made a good run into space through the middle. The quality of this game hasn’t really improved since the goal in truth.
35'
Leadbitter lifts a free-kick into the Stoke penalty area after a foul on Gestede 35 yards out from goal. Bernardo gets up well and flicks a header towards goal, but he has very little pace to work with and Lee Grant can easily catch the ball without having to move.
33'
Fabio plays the ball down the touchline towards Gestede, but Bruno Martins Indi is too strong for the Middlesbrough striker there and Stoke easily get possession back once more. Gestede is looking pretty isolated up front for Middlesbrough though.
31'
Neither side have played particularly well so far today, but Stoke have been the better of the two sides and arguably deserve the lead on the balance of play.
29'
M. Arnautović has scored a goal for Stoke City! Assist by G. Whelan.
The long ball forward from Whelan from close to the halfway line was a superb one, but Arnautovic still had a lot to do to finish but he certainly did it well.
GOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!! Arnautovic gives Stoke the lead!! Whelan plays a long ball forward into the Middlesbrough penalty box, and Arnautovic shows a wonderful bit of skill to flick the ball past Friend with a superb first touch, before taking the ball around Valdes and slotting the ball high into the net, avoiding the recovering defenders on the line.
28'
The away fans are certainly the more vocal of the two sets of supporter here, but their side are struggling to make any real impact on the game at the moment.
26'
Fabio plays a long ball forward and Marten de Roon appears to be clean through on the edge of the penalty area, but he can’t control the ball as it drops over his shoulder and Stoke are able to regain possession.
24'
Erik Pieters gets in behind the Middlesbrough defence on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and has lots of time to try and pick out Crouch in the middle, but the left-back rushes his cross and slices it straight out for a goal kick. Middlesbrough will be concerned with how easily he got in behind there though.
21'
R. Shawcross gets yellow.
Shawcross becomes the first player to be shown a yellow card by referee Craig Pawson for bringing down Traore inside the Stoke half.
19'
Friend heads the free-kick clear before Middlesbrough give the ball away cheaply and Allen appears to have space to shoot 25 yards out from goal, but trips over just as he’s about to pull the trigger. Ryan Shawcross then wins the ball back again for Stoke but wastes a golden three-on-two opportunity by rolling the ball too close to Valdes with Crouch and Arnautovic waiting.
18'
Stoke win another free-kick as Traore is penalised for leaning into Johnson on the right-hand side, and Whelan will have another chance to get the ball into the middle.
16'
Stoke are starting control this game now with Ramadan getting on the ball and linking up well with Arnautovic once again, but having spread the ball wide to Geoff Cameron on the right, the danger passes as the midfielder crosses straight into the arms of Valdes.
14'
OFF THE BAR!!! Stoke work the ball really nicely across the top of the box before Allen picks out Arnautovic on the right-hand side of the area, and the winger finds Ramadan at the back post with a fierce low cross but the Egyptian can only turn the ball against the crossbar from six yards out.
12'
Ramadan Sobhi shows off some clever footwork to play the ball into Allen who has space close to the halfway line, but his ball forward towards Arnautovic has far too much pace on it and goes straight out for a goal-kick.
10'
Victor Valdes slices a back-pass from Friend straight into touch, rather epitomising the scrappy nature of the game so far with neither side really getting going as yet.
8'
B. Espinosa enters the game and replaces Daniel Ayala.
Middlesbrough are being forced into an early change here as Daniel Ayala has to leave the field with an injury. Bernardo Espinosa comes on in his place but that’s a big blow for Aitor Karanka so early in the game.
6'
Gestede plays a lovely back heel into Gaston Ramirez on the right-hand edge of the Stoke penalty box, but his control lets him down as he looks to cut inside onto his favoured left foot and Stoke are easily able to clear the danger.
4'
Adama Traore does well to track back and steal possession away from Glen Johnson inside the Middlesbrough half before Rudy Gestede looks to be clean through on goal after a long ball over the top, but the linesman’s flag goes up against the striker.
3'
Marko Arnautovic gets down the outside of George Friend on the right-hand side and the Middlesbrough left-back pulls the Austrian back, handing Stoke a free-kick in a dangerous area on the right-hand side of the box. Glenn Whelan swings in the free-kick but Friend makes up for the foul by heading it clear at the near post.
1'
Kick-off! Middlesbrough get the game underway.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League match between Stoke City and Middlesbrough at the bet365 Stadium.
Stoke have won just once in their last five Premier League games, and were beaten 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in their last game, conceding all four goals in the first half.
They do though sit 10th in the Premier League table, and will be looking to extend their impressive recent home record, having not lost a league game at the bet365 Stadium since November.
Middlesbrough in contrast are currently 17th in the table, and are only outside of the relegation zone due to their superior goal difference over Crystal Palace.
Last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Palace left them without a Premier League win since before Christmas, and their lack of goals will be a huge concern to manager Aitor Karanka, with his side having scored just 19 times in their 26 games this season.
Mark Hughes makes just two changes to his Stoke side that was beaten at Spurs, with Glen Johnson replacing Phil Bardsley at right-back and Geoff Cameron coming in for Charlie Adam in midfield.
Middlesbrough meanwhile make five changes from the defeat at Palace, with George Friend, Adam Clayton, Grant Leadbitter, Adama Traore and Rudy Gestede all coming into the side. Bernardo Espinosa, Stewart Downing, Adam Forshaw, Alvaro Negredo and Cristhian Stuani are the men who drop out.
Team news: Stoke City (4-2-3-1) Grant; Johnson, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Pieters; Whelan, Cameron; Arnautovic, Allen, Ramadan; Crouch
The two sides shared the points when they met at the Riverside Stadium on the opening day of the season, with Xherdan Shaqiri’s wonderful free-kick securing a 1-1 draw after Alvaro Negredo had opened the scoring for Middlesbrough.
The players are heading out onto the pitch, kick-off is not far away now!
Half-time: Stoke City 2-0 Middlesbrough
Stoke lead at the bet365 Stadium thanks to two Arnautovic goals, the first of which was wonderfully taken after being picked out by Whelan. Middlesbrough did lose Ayala early on to injury, but have looked disorganised at the back at times and have barely threatened the Stoke goal, with Leadbitter’s deflected long-range effort as close as they have come.
Aitor Karanka may well turn to Alvaro Negredo on his bench early on in the second half, with Gestede looking extremely isolated as the lone striker for Middlesbrough. Mark Hughes meanwhile will be asking for more of the same from his Stoke side, who have looked solid at the back for the majority of the half.
Full-time: Stoke City 2-0 Middlesbrough
It’s all over here at the bet365 Stadium and Stoke secure all three points after a first-half brace from Marko Arnautovic. Middlesbrough did have a goal ruled out for offside midway through the second half but rarely threatened Lee Grant’s goal otherwise, and had to rely on Victor Valdes to keep the score at 2-0 on several occasions.
That's all from us here today, thanks for joining us and we hope you'll be able to join us again soon.
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