Stoke boss Tony Pulis has every right to be optimistic ahead of the visit of the three-time European champions. With Manchester United looking vulnerable of late and the Wayne Rooney saga overshadowing the club, the Welshman is right to sense that his side could break their United hoodoo this weekend.
As the Potters look to add fuel to the fires of disharmony at Old Trafford, Pulis is calling on his team to show their unity and togetherness that has seen them mix it with the best on home soil: “We need a big performance from the players and supporters to get anything from the game. Our biggest strength in this league has been that this club is united and Sunday a big performance is needed from everybody.”
Whilst there is probably never a good time to play United, who are still unbeaten this season despite much hype concerning their most prized asset and the American owners of the club, Stoke should see this as their best chance to catch United cold who looked very subdued in their laboured 1-0 win over Champions League debutants, Bursaspor during the week.
Since returning to the top flight, in the four previous meetings Stoke have yet to score. Not only have they failed to score, United’s backline has found themselves almost redundant in the four clashes with City failing to create any clear chances. The omens don’t look good for the home side, having conceding twelve goals against the Red Devils in the four meetings and have not beaten United in a competitive game since City recorded a memorable 2-1 League Cup victory back in 1993 at their previous home, the Victoria Ground.
The Sky cameras return to the Britannia Stadium for the third time this season and Stoke chairman Peter Coates is keen to make amends for last years 2-0 defeat that saw the Potters completely outclassed: “I thought it was one of our poorest performances. I don't know what happened. But having said that, Manchester United played really well.
I remember Sir Alex being interviewed later in the season after winning another important game. The interviewer suggested he'd just seen United's best game of the season, but the manager corrected him and said the win at Stoke was the best they had played. We were outplayed and it was nothing like the previous season here. We lost 1-0, but I thought we were terrific,” he added.
Coates is no stranger to adversity and the hierarchy of his club being questioned so he will be aware of how Sir Alex and the rest of his squad will be feeling but his only concern is that of Stoke City: “It's not a case of having sympathy with them because of what's happened. This is a tough business. Sport is unpredictable; things don't always go to plan for one reason and another.”
Stoke will be hoping to put last week’s heartache behind them after succumbing to a last minute defeat at Bolton after dominating for large parts of the game. Pulis opted for an adventurous line-up at the Reebok Stadium and it almost paid dividends but he is likely to revert to a more cautious approach to stop the attacking threat of United. Although his approach of setting out to stifle and contain against the top teams has not reaped many rewards, his mindset is still unlikely to change.
With United having drawn their last four on the road, Ferguson will be keen to get back to winning ways especially after last weeks second half horror show at home to newly promoted West Brom. One man keen to impress will be the returning Edwin Van der Sar in between the posts whose howler gifted the Baggies their equaliser.
There is no doubting that despite being low on confidence, United have the fire power and ability to win comfortably, but with Rooney casting doubts over the ability of United to continue to win the game’s biggest prizes as they chase runaway leaders Chelsea, Stoke will see this as a real opportunity to add to the tale of discontent at Old Trafford.
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