Higginbotham's only goal this season came in the home win against Spurs

Stoke City defender Danny Higginbotham says that a win against relegation rivals Middlesbrough on Saturday is crucial to their survival chances.

The Potters dropped into the bottom three after the 3-1 defeat at Everton.

Higginbotham told BBC Radio Stoke: "We've got some very important games coming up and Middlesbrough is one we'll be looking to take three points.

"The home form has kept us going. The crowd has played a big part in that and hopefully they can do the same again."

Fulham's win at Bolton on Saturday means that Stoke are now the only Premier League team without an away win this season.

But Higginbotham believes the Potters can bounce back from the defeat at Goodison Park.

"We were very disappointed with our first-half performance against Everton," he said. "But we're still very positive.

"The beauty of football is that you get the chance to put things right the following week."

Stoke's next four fixtures are all against teams in the bottom half of the division.

After the home game with Middlesbrough, they then travel to bottom club West Bromwich Albion (4 April), before home matches against Newcastle (11 April) and Blackburn (18 April).

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