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Mark Hughes wants his Stoke City side to show Boro "what the Premier League is all about" - even though he says it’s by no means an ideal opening day fixture for his side

Stoke’s first day record under Hughes is woeful, losing all three season starting fixtures since the ex-Manchester United striker took charge.

Indeed, the Potters have failed to score in their three previous opening day fixtures under the tutelage of Hughes.

And the experienced gaffer isn’t exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of facing a side in Boro who are still buoyed following that fantastic promotion last term.

“It isn’t a game we would have chosen, for many reasons, but we are in a good place and we are looking forward to it,” said Hughes.

“They will have a lot of energy from winning games and playing well last season, and they will be hoping to carry that on.

“We are an accomplished Premier League team though and we want to show them what the Premier League is all about.

“We faced Norwich in their first home game last season, and we are taking 3,000 supporters up there with us, so we will be incredibly well backed, as always.

“We aren’t going to feel isolated up there. We are ready for it.”

Hughes and his coaching staff have monitored Boro closely during pre-season and the manager believes he has a good idea of the set-out and personnel of Aitor Karanka’s starting XI.

“You can have a good stab at it in terms of guessing the opposition personnel and gain some insight from what they’ve done in pre-season games,” he said.

“We’ve got a fair idea of which way they will go. They’ll have options and it takes a few weeks for the game to settle down and everybody is aware of who’s likely to play and who isn’t.

“For that part, you can have a good idea of who you’ll face.

“We go there in good heart. It’s a season that will test us all. We’ll be wanting to achieve...that never changes.

“We’ve got things that we want to do and that drive starts at the weekend. We’d like to have a good start this year. We’ll try to make that happen.”

Hughes says Glen Johnson is Stoke’s only real injury doubt ahead of the game at the Riverside, with Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri expected to feature after recovering from recent niggles.

Saido Berahino is still heavily linked with a move to the Potters with Hughes admitting he’s still looking to add to his squad before the deadline.

“You’ve got to keep on progressing and trying to improve your ground and if you do that you’re going in the right direction,” he said.

“You’ve seen the investment that everyone is putting in. If you stand still you get run over.”