Stoke vs Man U Preview

The size of the task facing Stoke this weekend will not be lost on Tony Pulis, as they play host to table-topping Manchester United. 

The Potters have made a solid start to the 2011/12 campaign, but will be aware that their weekend opponents are yet to drop a point.
Stoke will need to perform considerably better than they did in their last Premier League outing if they are to put the first blot on the Red Devils' copybook.
Pulis saw his side slip to a 4-0 defeat at Sunderland last time out, but will hope that a first setback of the season is nothing more than a minor blip.
The Potters will be happy to be back on home soil this weekend, as they have lost only one of their last 11 top flight fixtures at the Britannia Stadium.
They have, however, scored just three goals in their last seven Premier League games and need to find a cutting edge.


Manchester United have had no such problems of late, finding the target 21 times in their opening five fixtures.
Wayne Rooney has led the charge and the England international is only the second player to net in each of his team's first five games, after Jose Antonio Reyes for Arsenal in 2004.
He is also the first man to score nine times in the first five games of a Premier League season.
While Rooney is the danger man, Javier Hernandez has scored three goals in two appearances against Stoke - netting in the 27th minute of both games - and Pulis will be keen to keep a close eye on the Mexican marksman.
Should United be among the goals again this weekend, they will fancy their chances of preserving their 100 per cent record against Stoke - which currently stands at six wins from six.

Team news

Stoke are set to be without the services of Kenwyne Jones this weekend.
The striker suffered a knee injury during their midweek Carling Cup victory over Tottenham and will play no part on Saturday.
His absence means Peter Crouch is likely to spearhead the Potters' attack, with Jon Walters and Cameron Jerome battling it out for the other striking berth.
Ricardo Fuller could come back into contention, but Danny Higginbotham (knee) misses out against his former club.

Hernandez could make a surprise return to action for Manchester United.
A knock picked up against Chelsea last weekend was expected to keep him sidelined for some time, but he is back in training and pushing for a place in Sir Alex Ferguson's starting XI.
United are also hoping Rio Ferdinand will be ready for a recall after shaking off a calk problem.
Chris Smalling is a slight doubt while Nemanja Vidic (calf), Tom Cleverley (ankle) and Rafael (shoulder) definitely miss out.

Possible starting XIs

Stoke: Begovic, Woodgate, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson, Delap, Whitehead, Palacios, Etherington, Walters, Crouch.
Man Utd: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Young, Rooney, Welbeck.