There will no motivational material for Tony Pulis to pin up on the dressing-room wall. "Stoke are going to be a force," said Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday. The Manchester United manager knows how to use flattery to help his cause but he also appreciates just how difficult it can be to get a result at the Britannia Stadium following last season's 1-0 win. The significant team news is that Ben Foster will definitely start in goal for United despite his mistakes last weekend. No prizes for guessing whom Stoke will be targeting. Stuart James
Venue Britannia Stadium
Tickets Sold out
Last season Stoke 0 Manchester United 1
Referee H Webb
This season's matches 4 Y12, R0, 3.00 cards per game
sportingbet odds Stoke 7-1 Manchester United 7-20 Draw 16-5
Probable starters in bold, contenders in light Photograph: Graphic Stoke
Subs from Simonsen, Tuncay, Whitehead, Higginbotham, Wilkinson, Pugh, Griffin, Beattie, Diao, Cresswell, Cort
Doubtful Beattie (ankle), Fuller (groin)
Injured M Sidibe (knee,Oct), Am Faye (back, unknown)
Suspended None
Form guide DLWDL
Disciplinary record Y11 R0
Leading scorer Kitson 2
Manchester United
Subs from Kuszczak, Scholes, Carrick, Brown, Nani, Anderson, Neville, Gibson, Fabio, Owen, Welbeck, De Laet, Macheda, Tosic, J Evans
Doubtful None
Injured Van der Sar (finger, Oct), Obertan (back, Oct), Rafael (shoulder, Oct), Hargreaves (knee, Nov)
Suspended None
Form guide WWWWL
Disciplinary record Y11 R1
Leading scorer Rooney 6
Match pointers
• Stoke's last eight home wins have all been achieved with a clean sheet
• The last time United scored in an away league game and did not go on to win the match was against Arsenal in November 2008
• Stoke are the only top-flight team to have drawn more than once this season
• United have score more second-half goals (11) than any other side this season
• Glenn Whelan has had more shots on target (four) than any other Stoke player this season; Dave Kitson has had the most shots off-target (five)
No comments:
Post a Comment