The Scot has been a major part of the club's recent resurgence but is more than aware the threat that City will be to Brian Laws' men.
He told Footymad: "Stoke will be tremendously difficult. Another team with strong players and Premiership players within their squad, I think Tony Pulis has signed some quality in there and lots of people have found it very hard at the Britannia this season.
"But we have shown that we can match the best and hopefully we can do that again at Stoke but we know that it will be very hard."
Laws has no fresh injury worries and should name an unchanged team to the one which drew with Southampton on Saturday.