Shaqiri: Stoke can finish top four

Stoke City have every chance of finishing in a Champions League spot this season, says Xherdan Shaqiri.

Mark Hughes’ side are sitting inside the top 10 in the Premier League, and have beaten the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Everton so far this season.

However, losses at home against West Brom, Watford and Crystal Palace, as well as an away defeat to Sunderland, have hurt them in the first half of the season.

Shaqiri, an off-season signing from Inter, has belief that Stoke can push for a top-four finish.

“You never know with football,” the 24-year-old told the Daily Star. “The Premier League this season is so all over the place, some teams are really down and some are really up like Leicester [City]. Anything can happen in this league.

“We must work like this, play good and at the end of the season we will see where we are.

“For us it is important to play as a team, we can win only as a team. If we can keep going like this anything can happen.

“We are beating the big teams but we have to do it against the teams who we are expected to beat too.

“Maybe it is mentality but also the smaller teams are good now, they have new players. Every game is tough in the Premier League.”

Stoke play West Brom in the league in the New Year, before a League Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool three days later.