Air traffic control could well be working overtime this Saturday with planes being given prior warning to high flying balls at the Britannia. This fixture might not wet the appetite for football purists and neutrals alike but be sure two men that couldn’t care less are Tony Pulis and Sam Allardyce.
Bookmakers may be giving minutely slim odds on this game being shown last on Match of the Day but if last seasons scoreline is anything to go by then perhaps Gary Lineker and co might have to reschedule their order. Last season saw the Potters crush Rovers in an emphatic 3-0 win, their biggest victory margin since returning to the top flight following a 23 year exile.
There will be no room for the faint hearted in this one. Both teams should be fresh with no midweek fixture to contend with. Big Sam may be a little jetlagged if he was in Auxerre over-seeing Real Madrid’s Champions League triumph. Maybe Florentino Perez invited Allardyce to the game following his bizarre comments that he could easily manage the world’s biggest club. Cue News of the World scoop.....
The styles of play of both teams are not the only similarity. Their annoyance of a certain Arsene Wenger and his tiresome anti-football comments has certainly tarnished his chances of walking freely through the Potteries or the cobbled streets of Lancashire. The Arsenal manager has definitely ruffled a few feathers in these parts and both Pulis and Allardyce have been quick to defend their clubs, with Stoke lodging a complaint to the FA following Wenger’s criticism of Stoke's over zealous approach and in-your-face tactics. However, this won’t change how both teams line up.
Many people would see this mid-table clash offering little excitement and little in the way of flowing football, but both sides are at the point now where they are looking up rather than down and keen to push onto the next level which would be breaking into the top 10 come May.
Stoke will surely start the game as favourites at their ‘Fortress’ Britannia but Blackburn will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories on the road. Rovers make the short journey south following a last gasp win at newly promoted Blackpool last time out in the Lancashire derby. Brett Emerton stole the points deep into injury time at Bloomfield Road giving Rovers their first away win of the campaign. The Aussie will now be hoping he has done enough to earn a place in the starting eleven for the first time this season.
The signs look good for Rovers and Big Sam can take plenty of positives into the game following a battling draw away to big spending Manchester City in the away game prior to the Lancs derby. But a hard working, strong side wait in the winds and Rovers will have to do something they have failed so far at the Britannia since Stoke were promoted three years ago; shut Stoke out and get on the score sheet themselves.
One man who could make the difference is the in-form El-Hadji Diouf who has matured so far this season. The vociferous Stoke fans will surely welcome the controversial El-Hadji Diouf as he lines up his first corner, but the instrumental winger has proved his worth for Rovers this season receiving a lot of praise from his manager: “People will remember that Diouf from years and years ago, but this year's form has been outstanding. He's been a major player for us”
Stoke will be aiming to follow up last Sunday’s 2-1 victory away to Newcastle with three points on home soil. After a poor first half, Pulis changed to a more offensive side and Stoke could have won by more in the end. One blow for the Potters is the injury picked up by Ricardo Fuller. The Jamaican suffered a shoulder injury at St. James Park and will miss Saturday’s game.
However, one man looking to terrorise the Rovers backline is the in-form Kenwyne Jones. Stoke’s record signing has already scored four goals in Stoke colours this season and some fans have even compared him to Chelsea's goal scoring machine, Didier Drogba. Rovers skipper Christopher Samba will surely be in for a busy day as he tries to stop the threat of Jones.
The 25-year-old believes his new club's strength is the 'togetherness' of the first team squad: “The togetherness is for the club, for the team, for the fans and for myself. I think this way; we're going to be able to win games.
We need goals and hopefully we're going to get a few more goals coming from the whole squad which will help us to finish even higher than we did last season.”
The Potters are likely to make changes in midfield ahead of the clash, adapting a slightly more attacking formation from the side that started at Newcastle. Salif Diao could be the man to miss out as Stoke will want to take the game to Rovers from the first whistle. Rory Delap will return to the starting eleven and there could be returns for Marc Wilson and Jermaine Pennant. Jon Walters is likely to continue alongside Kenwyne Jones with Eidur Gudjohnsen still trying to prove his fitness.
Rovers are likely to be unchanged from their victory at Blackpool although Big Sam may decide to bring in Emerton following his match winner last time out.
No comments:
Post a Comment