- Barclays Premier League
- 24th Sep 2011
- KO 17:30
- Ground: Britannia Stadium
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 Rooneyhas 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.
Opta stat: David de Gea has made 28 saves this season, more than any other goalkeeper.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Stoke
- Manchester United are the only Premier League side to still have a 100% winning record against Stoke since the Potters won promotion in 2008.
- United have scored 16 times and conceded only twice in six Premier League meetings against Stoke. Both of those City goals came in 2-1 wins for Sir Alex Ferguson's side last season.
- The Potters last league victory over United was a 2-1 win on Boxing Day 1984 at their former Victoria Ground home.
Man Utd
- Defeat at Sunderland last weekend represents the Potters' only loss in 11 matches in all competitions this season. They have kept seven clean sheets.
- If they keep a clean sheet it will be the first time they have not conceded in their opening three home matches of a top-flight season since 1970-71.
- Tony Pulis' men have not scored more than once in any of their five league games to date. They are they equal lowest scorers (3) along with Swansea and West Brom.
- Peter Crouch is looking to score for a sixth different Premier League club; Les Ferdinand, Craig Bellamy, Andrew Cole, Nick Barmby and Marcus Bent have already achieved this feat. Crouch has never scored in 13 previous league meetings against United and never been on the winning side against them.
- Stoke have had only 35 shots in their five league matches this season - fewer than any other club in the division.
- United have scored 21 goals in five Premier League matches this season. If they score twice against Stoke, they will beat Newcastle's Premier League record for the most goals in the opening six matches of the season (22 goals in 1994-95).
- Nine-goal Wayne Rooney is the only Premier League player to have scored in every round of fixtures so far this campaign. However, he has never scored in three previous league matches against Stoke - they are the only current Premier League club he has previously played against and failed to find the net.
- If Rooney does score against Stoke this time around, he will become the first player to score in the first six top-flight matches of the season since Alan Smith, who scored in Arsenal's first eight league matches in 1988-89. No United player has ever scored in the first six league games of a season.
- Manchester United have allowed their opponents more shots on target (34) than any other team in the Premier League. Yet only Newcastle (2) have conceded fewer goals.
- Nani (17) and Ashley Young (14) have provided more assists in the division than any other players since the start of last season.
My Take: Stoke away is not a easy fixture for any team, but we have good record there. Will be interesting to see who starts as CB as we need physically strong players who can defend set pieces. Vidic would have been key for us, will be a big miss for this fixture.
Rooney, Anderson, Nani will be key for us. Hoping for 2-0 win for us.
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