The sky sports cameras return to the Potteries for a mouth-watering clash between Stoke and West Ham in Saturday’s lunchtime kick off. The game cannot come quick enough for Tony Pulis’ side following their dramatic late winner against Aston Villa on Monday night while the Hammers are in desperate need of three points.
The dark clouds of despair are starting to gather over Upton Park just four games into the season as Avram Grant has so far failed to transform the fortunes of the club following last season’s battle against the drop. The Hammers have made their worst start to a league campaign in their 115-year history. In the wake of a vote of confidence from co-owner David Gold, the Israeli has announced he will be absent from the game as he observes the Jewish Holy day of Yom Kippur.
There are no such things as "must win" games this early in the season, but a defeat will leave West Ham rooted to the foot of the table for at least another week. Short on points and short on confidence is a lethal combination for a struggling side. Grant’s assistant Zeljko Petrovic is likely to take charge of team affairs and is faced with a formidable task in front of Stoke’s vocal support.
Despite starting the game in the bottom three, a win for Stoke will see them temporarily move into the top half of the table and the Potters have every reason to be confident of recording back to back wins. A positive result and those three defeats from the first three games will quickly become a dim and distant memory.
Monday night’s victory against European hopefuls, Villa was a very special one in the circumstances. It was a remarkable and emotional evening, made even more poignant by the commitment and bravery shown by Tony Pulis in the face of a terrible family tragedy following the death of his Mother just hours before the game.
Every single Stoke fan would have understood if he had decided to stay in South Wales, but the fact he decided to travel to the Britannia Stadium to inspire his team to victory speaks volumes for his dedication to the club and his qualities as a person. After a lacklustre first half which could have seen Villa out of sight, Pulis arrived in the dressing room at the break and gave a rallying cry to his team which inspired them to grind out a valuable win in front of their vociferous fans. The Welshman was not short of opinion and fireworks were flying in the home dressing room.
Saturday’s game has the potential to be a real cracker to start the weekend’s action. The odds obviously favour Stoke as they look to introduce their new signings into the attacking fold with West Ham having conceded three goals in every game so far. But the East Londoners should certainly not be written off with Scott Parker being the stand out figure in the heart of the Hammers team. Mark Noble will give his usual 110% too for his boyhood club.
Tal Ben Haim will be absent for the same reason as his manager, allowing £4 million summer signing Winston Reid from FC Midtjylland to slot into a leaking back four after his comeback from a torn buttock muscle. He will surely undergo a baptism of fire with Kenywne Jones likely to lead the Stoke line again. On his day the big Trinidadian is simply unplayable. He will be partnered by either Jonathan Walters or Ricardo Fuller who proved West Ham’s nemesis last season scoring a sublime solo goal in Stoke’s 1-0 win at Upton Park. West Ham will be looking for revenge having lost on both occasions last season. If Fuller starts, that is expected to be the only change for the home side.
It is going to seem quite strange for many Stoke fans to see such talent sat on the bench but as we saw against Villa, the team that ended the game were able to pounce on the tired legs of Villa after the game looked evenly balanced and heading for a draw. Eidur Gudjohnsen will be keen to impress should he get on the field for his debut and the Stoke fans will be hoping to see shades of his clever football brain that forged an impressive partnership with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink back in his Chelsea days.
It seems Turkish international; Tuncay could well have played his last game in the red and white stripes of City after a reported bust up with Pulis after not being included in the squad for the visit of Villa. His time at Stoke has seen numerous cameo roles from the bench and he has often been overlooked. The Turk has played down his feud with Pulis but he is expected to sit out again.
On loan Jermaine Pennant will be keen to follow up his debut performance from Monday despite receiving much criticism from the Villa camp, for the way he seemingly fell over untouched by Villa skipper, Stylian Petrov earning the free kick which led to Stoke’s dramatic winner.
All the ingredients are there for a feisty affair in the Potteries with both teams in search of the spoils before a respite from the Premier League with a midweek Carling Cup fixture.
No comments:
Post a Comment