Stoke
City v
Man
Utd
Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen returns after a
scan revealed no serious damage to his injured
fingers.
City have a string of other injury concerns, however, with Dave
Kitson and Andy Griffin (both knee), Salif Diao (calf) and Leon
Cort (groin) doubtful.
Manchester United defender Patrice Evra starts a four-match ban
and is likely to be replaced by John O'Shea.
Otherwise, Sir Alex Ferguson has no new fresh injury or
suspension worries to contend with. <!-- E SF -->
Stoke (from): Sorensen, Shawcross, Sonko,
Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Delap, Amdy Faye, Whelan, Cresswell,
Pugh, Fuller, Pericard, Tonge, Soares, Simonsen, Olofinjana,
Davies, Wilkinson, Griffin, Diao, Cort, Kitson.
Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos,
Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, O'Shea, Evans, Rafael, Ronaldo,
Anderson, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson,
Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck.
Stoke manager Tony Pulis:
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of Inline Embedded Media -->"We'll get 28,000 people there, the
place will be rocking and I'm just delighted for everybody in the
city - it's good times. "We'll expect a tough game - we know what
they're like and what players they've got. Whichever team Sir Alex
Ferguson picks, they're full of quality. "If we work hard enough
and we have a good slice of luck on the day then you never know
what might happen."
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick believes
Stoke could provide more of a threat than Liga de Quito, who they
beat to become Club World Cup winners:
"Quito was a test but Stoke will be tough. "They will make it a
battle and try to ensure it is not easy for us. They will probably
come at us a little bit more than Quito did. It will be hard."
Last months reverse fixture was Stoke's second successive 5-0
drubbing at Old Trafford in top-flight football, spanning 23 years.
But the Potters' last two home games against the Red Devils have
both been 2-1 wins; first in the old First Division on Boxing Day
1984, then in the first leg of a second round League Cup tie on 22
September 1993.
Stoke won the first ever league match against Manchester United
7-1 on 7 January 1893 (top-flight).
at Stoke only
League (inc PL): Stoke 15 wins, Man Utd 9, Draws 11
Prem: Stoke 0 wins, Man Utd 0, Draws 0
Manchester United 5-0 Stoke City
15 November 2008 - Ref: Peter Walton
Man Utd scorers: Ronaldo 3, Carrick 45, Berbatov 49, Welbeck 84,
Ronaldo 89
Chris Foy (St Helens, Merseyside)
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