The Potters have included £8m record signing Kenwyne Jones in the starting line up for the game against Chelsea this afternoon.
City will be hoping to fare better than they did last season, when they lost 7-0, and Jones has recovered well enough from the ankle injury picked up in the opening day defeat at Wolves to start the game.
Local boy Andy Wikinson makes his 98th Potters appearance as part of a 5 man midfield, with Glenn Whelan and Ricardo Fuller the two men missing out.