Stoke City are looking to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at QPR last time out when they host Cardiff City on Saturday.

The loss in the capital was all the more frustrating for the Potters after they had led 2-0 before succumbing to a 4-2 defeat, a result which has left them just one place and three points above the relegation zone.

Therefore, boss Michael O'Neill may want to make some changes for the weekend against a Bluebirds team that are pushing for a top six finish.

Despite that, Stoke have done reasonably well on their own patch this season and they will be confident of securing maximum points.

Here we look at THREE changes the Northern Irish chief will be mulling over ahead of the game...

Dropping Jack Butland

This would be a controversial call but the ex-Birmingham City stopper had a very poor game last week - along with most of his teammates in fairness.

After a solid start under O'Neill, we've just started to see signs of the Butland that struggled earlier in the campaign and the manager may think Adam Davies deserves a shot.

Replacing Danny Batth

As you would expect after conceding four goals, the Potters defence struggled big time last week.

With James Chester more experienced and having only just joined the club, that makes Danny Batth's place very vulnerable.

Liam Lindsay could come in for the former Wolves man and he could have few complaints after his showing against the R's.

Do you know where these 15 ex-Stoke City players are playing now?

Tweaking the formation

Three defeats in four suggests Stoke are having problems right now and that could see O'Neill changing the formation.

The most obvious switch would be to partner Tyrese Campbell with Sam Vokes. That would give the Staffordshire outfit a bigger threat in the box and Campbell could thrive alongside a traditional target man.

Stoke need to be at it from the off on Saturday and a 4-4-2 formation may be the way to go.