High-flying Seagulls preying for Stoke scalp

Saturday’s David and Goliath clash in the Potteries has all the ingredients for a mouth-watering afternoon of FA Cup football. Gus Poyet takes his table-topping Brighton side to Premier League Stoke with the Seagulls flying on cloud nine.

The home side must guard against complacency against the League One side that will be full of confidence ahead of the game having lost only four times in 28 games this season and looking destined for a return to the Championship. Despite 34 places separating these two sides in the football league ladder, the Potters must stick to their usual no-nonsense approach if they are to harbour serious ambitions of reaching the latter stages of the competition.

Whilst both sides might see this fixture as a welcome distraction from the league, the importance of the game for both clubs is significant with a quarter-final place at stake for the victors. However, not too many people would have been celebrating at the seaside when the draw was made with Stoke holding a superior psychological edge against the League One leaders having won the last seven meetings between the two sides. Brighton’s last victory was back in 2001 when the sides met in the old Division Two in a top-of-the-table clash on a cold September night. Paul Watson was the injury-time hero in a 1-0 win in front of just over 6,000 fans. You have to go back even further for Brighton’s last victory on Stoke soil.

The last time Brighton endured success in the Potteries was all the way back in 1961 at Stoke’s old Victoria Ground. This won’t dampen the spirits of almost 4,000 travelling fans though heading north to the Britannia Stadium dreaming of a repeat of the 1983 final which saw them take Manchester United to a final replay before succumbing to a 4-0 defeat putting an end to Albion’s ‘Roy of the Rovers’ fairytale.

Having scored four goals in their last away game at Bristol Rovers and on a five-game unbeaten run, Gus Poyet’s side have valid reason to believe they can pull off a giant killing with the scalp of Premier League Stoke who have established themselves in the top-flight and realistically believe they have a chance of cup glory. Tony Pulis will be aware of the threat which Brighton pose and will have done his homework on trying to stop the goal threats of Glenn Murray and Ashley Barnes who have 24 goals between them so far this campaign.

In the two previous rounds which Stoke have played against Wolves and Cardiff, Pulis has opted to ring the changes but has seen his weakened sides prove their worth with two away wins. The Welshman is again likely to make changes from the side that was beaten in dramatic fashion at Birmingham last weekend. Ricardo Fuller will be pushing for a start in attack whilst changes to Stoke’s defensive line look certain with Marc Wilson and Danny Pugh making way for Andy Wilkinson and Danny Collins.

In fact, the last time the two sides met was on the final day of the 2006 season at Brighton’s Withdean Stadium. The already relegated Seagulls were thumped 5-1 by a weakened Stoke side thanks to a hat-trick from youngster Adam Rooney now plying his trade with Inverness in the SPL.

Although Stoke clearly hold the upper hand, goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen has called on his teammates to remain focussed and guard against complacency: “We don’t want to be making the headlines Sunday morning for the wrong reasons.”

“The last thing we want is to let all the hard work we have done so far go to waste by thinking we can just turn up on Saturday and win. We are treating this game like any other Premier League game because they deserve our respect,” said the 34-year-old.

Having won his 92^nd cap for Denmark against England recently, Sorensen is likely to be another change made by Tony Pulis with Asmir Begovic dropping to the bench and the big Dane returning to the starting XI.

The visitors are also likely to make changes for the tie welcoming back Chris Wood and Matt Sparrow from injury. Although the Seagulls may not have any household names at their disposal, Gus Poyet will be hoping after this game that some of his squad will have etched their name into FA Cup folklore. The Uruguayan is likely to line-up with their usual 4-3-3 attacking formation and will be looking to start on the front foot against a stubborn Stoke side with Wood joining Barnes and Murray in attack.

Zigic Niks all three points

Nikola Zigic was the stoppage-time hero for Birmingham as the Carling Cup finalists secured a vital three points against a stubborn Stoke side.

The game had been very nip-and-tuck with both keepers rather redundant between the posts until Zigic grabbed a 93^rd minute winner. The result gives Alex McLeish’s side their first back-to-back league wins for 14 months after Zigic rescued the Blues again, following his winner at West Ham last Sunday.

The 6ft 8ins Serbia international nodded in a Cameron Jerome cross after Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic had spilled David Bentley's low shot. Begovic did not have much else to do in a drab Midlands derby but failed to hold onto what looked like a routine save for the Bosnian who has been in fine form of late.

It looked like both sides would share the spoils in a match where chances were few and far between, with much of the game being bossed by both defences but after Stoke’s rare lapse in concentration, the former Potters target Zigic was allowed to ease the home side’s relegation fears and move them into 14^th above rivals Aston Villa.

Both teams lined up with 4-4-2 formations and continued to cancel each other out particularly in the final third. Birmingham’s new front pairing of Zigic and Obafemi Martins were given no change from Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth who marshalled Stoke’s defence very well, while Stoke’s new forward line of Kenwyne Jones and John Carew were often thwarted by a resolute Roger Johnson and Martin Jiranek. Though the game will not live in the memory for too long, Blues’ fans will just be grateful of the points in their bid to secure Premier League safety.

Boxing Day was the last time that Stoke had won away from the Potteries and they would have certainly fancied their chances at St. Andrews after they weathered an early storm from the hosts to create the lion’s share of what few chances came along in the first half. Former Birmingham man, Jermaine Pennant was the creative fulcrum for the Potters as he enjoyed the benefit of a pair of almost unmissable targets in Carew and Jones, and it was his cultured delivery from the right flank that frequently made life uncomfortable for the one-time Stoke trainee Ben Foster in the Birmingham goal.

But while the two strapping front men battered Foster, they could not better him, and in the absence of tangible reward for his creative efforts, Pennant almost took matters into his own hands, curling a low free-kick inches wide of Foster's left-hand upright.

It was of no surprise though to Stoke’s travelling fans that the Potters would not muster an early goal as they remain the only team in England not to have scored in the opening 15 minutes of a match this season.

Birmingham started to come back into the game as the first half drew to a close with David Bentley and Sebastian Larsson providing some energy down the flanks as they tried to capitalise on the frailties of Stoke’s stand-in full backs Danny Pugh and Marc Wilson.

The only notable moment of the second half came when Huth looked to have handled Bentley’s effort with a raised arm but referee Mark Halsey waved played on as the German cleverly fell to the ground clutching his face.

As the game petered out and seemed destined for a goalless draw, Zigic then rose highest in the box to ensure Birmingham hold the bragging rights between these two Midland’s rivals until next time.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis could not hide his frustration after the game after seeing his side surrender a point in a game they were rarely troubled in:  “Asmir Begovic should have cuddled that ball, it shouldn't have come off him as it did, but up to that I thought we defended very well. The disappointing thing is that, from a game we thought we'd seen out, we ended up losing.”