The Potteries side will tomorrow be the first to face City since Hughes was controversially sacked as manager, with Italian Roberto Mancini taking over.

Pulis said: "Manchester City have five or six top, top players up front who are as good as anything, if not better than most in the Premier League.

"Conceding goals has been their big stumbling block this season and Mark must be desperately disappointed that he hasn't had the opportunity to get that right. But I am sure he will be back because he has proved himself to be a decent manager."

Hughes bought Kolo Toure from Arsenal, Joleon Lescott from Everton and Wayne Bridge from Chelsea, but they have struggled to keep clean sheets, even against ordinary teams.

Pulis has warned his own players not to get caught up in the "circus" surrounding tomorrow's visitors.

Meanwhile he has tremendous sympathy for Hughes and his backroom staff, all axed after Manchester City's 4-3 win over Sunderland last Saturday.

Pulis said: "I am disappointed because it's a British manager that has been sacked and disappointed because Mark was never given the time or the opportunity.

"There's no way in a million years you can have an effect on a club in a year, even with all the money Mark had to spend.

"But Manchester City are now operating on a different level and so they have to get used to the new pressures that come with that different level.

"They are now expected to win every week and that is a new pressure to live with.

"Mark brought a lot of players in but has not had the opportunity to find his best team and strike the right balance."

Pulis will have defender Robert Huth back from suspension but must make a late decision over Ryan Shawcross' fitness as the former Manchester United youngster battles a groin problem.

Pulis has mixed feelings about the task facing his side, saying: "It is never easy going to a club where the manager has just changed, you just do not know what you are going to be facing.

"There is bound to be some sort of reaction, good or bad, but you can toss a coin which way it will affect them."

Stoke have won just one of their last eight games while slipping to 11th in the table. Unlike Mancini's new charges, they have a problem with finding the net.

Pulis said: "We need to score more goals, and it isn't as if we are not creating the chances. There were enough of them to win the game at Aston Villa last weekend. We have to show a bit more care with our final ball and our finishing."