Mark Hughes has confirmed that Victor Moses is likely to be handed his Stoke City debut against Portsmouth in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday evening.
The Chelsea forward arrived at the Britannia Stadium on a season-long loan from the Blues earlier this month, but was not part of the travelling party at Hull on Sunday.
Hughes says the game against the League Two challengers provides him with the perfect opportunity to hand the Nigerian international his first appearance for the club.
“Victor is very much part of my thinking for the game, and hopefully we can get him on the ball and allow him to play his natural game,” the Welshman said.
“He will start the game for us. It is important for him to get the shirt on and get out there because he hasn’t had as much game time as he would have liked over the past 12 months.
“He is a very good footballer and somebody that we are very happy to have here. It is a win-win situation for us all to be honest.”
Hughes added: “He is strong and powerful, and I am sure that if we can get him up to speed quickly we will have a great player on our hands.”
Meanwhile, Hughes confirmed that the inclusion of the 24-year old will be just one of a number of changes that he anticipates making to his side.
He said: “There will be changes because it’s a chance to give game time to some of the lads who maybe haven’t played as much as they would have liked so far.
“The team I put out there will have the quality to win the game though, there is no doubt about that whatsoever.
“I’m sure it will be pretty much full of internationals, and that shows you how strong a squad we have at this present time, which is pleasing.”
The likes of Geoff Cameron, Robert Huth and Peter Crouch will all be hoping to feature, having been starved of action during the opening two weeks of the campaign, whilst Hughes also dropped a hint that he may award a call up to an Academy player.
“I have always looked to nurture players through from the Academy, and that is something that we are hoping to do here,” he added.
“There is someone we have in mind who we may look to get into the group tomorrow, but that depends upon a few things. It is a chance to bring him into the group though.”