Good weekend for Stoke . . . and more signings on the way?

Stoke extended their lead at the top of the Championship thanks to a superb 1-0 home victory over a decent Ipswich side. The victory, in front of the largest crowd (23,563) at the Brit since the visit of Chelsea in the FA Cup four years ago, came as a result of a stunning strike from the in form Liam Lawrence.

The victory extended the Potters winning streak to 5 games, and they have now only suffered one defeat in the last 18 Championship outings. Other results also went right for Stoke as Watford drew and WBA, Charlton, Palace and Ipswich all lost. Only Bristol City continued to confound the "experts" with another 3 points.

Every game is now massive and on Tuesday night Stoke have the chance to extend their lead even further as they are the only one of the top teams playing, with an away match at Preston. To open up a four point gap on Bristol City, 5 points over Watford and 10 points on 4th placed West Brom would certainly put the pressure on the other teams, especially given Stoke's current run of form.

There looks to be the strong possibility of further team strengthening this week in the loan market. Marton Fulop joined on Friday from Sunderland and has been quoted as saying he is now the first choice 'keeper. It would seem that another centre half would be favourite to arrive next week, with many sources suggesting Wigan Athletic's Swedish International Andreas Granqvist may be the man.