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So Stoke travel to London for the first time in 2011 this afternoon to take on a Fulham side narked by our actions earlier in the season. As we prepared to continue inevitable hostilities with Arsenal this year, few fans would have predicted the significant amount of bad blood built up with the Cottagers instead.
Our story begins back in September, when a dreary League Cup tie between the two sparked controversy late on when Andy Wilkinson made an reckless and completely unnecessary tackle on Moussa Dembele. Both camps rightly lambasted the challenge, and Mark Hughes refused Tony Pulis’ handshake at the end of the game. Golden boy of English football Danny Murphy stoked the flames and rashly condemned three PL teams (including Stoke) for their tackling and overly physical approach to games. In all fairness his comments carried weight from a personal POV, particularly when coming so soon after injuries to Dembele and Bobby Zamora. However he vented these frustrations in completely the wrong way and inevitably faced a backlash. Following that, Decembers PL match between the two appeared to pass without incident, until Pulis snubbed Hughes at the full time whistle to prove he still harboured ill-feeling toward the Cottagers.
So despite being the only Welsh managers in the Premier League, there is little love lost between Hughes and Pulis. It’s unfortunate for both managers that they should meet just three weeks after the latest debacle but it’s a media dream. With more players and managers refusing the hand of certain individuals, it’s a petty but amusing subplot to this game and the cameras will be trained on both managers at ninety minutes.
Teams
Fulham’s fortunes have dipped dramatically since Roy Hodgson departed for his doomed tenure at Anfield. After a season of unqualified success which saw them reach the Europa League final and hold a respectable league position, a mix of bad luck and poor form has seen them rooted in the bottom half of the league for the majority of this campaign. However they have been steadily improving of late, winning three of the last five in all competitions (including that 2-0 victory at the Brit) and starting to look up rather than down. Key names look ready to return from long injury lay-offs with Dembele fit again, Andy Johnson back amongst the goals after such a torturous run of injuries and main man Zamora hoping for a return in the next few weeks. Murphy, Dickson Etuhu and Damien Duff will form an impressive midfield line for the Potters to try and crack. And Chris Baird is not a name Stoke fans wanted to hear anytime soon. After his scoring for fun antics at the Brit, here’s hoping we don’t let him venture outside his own half.
Having made ten changes in midweek for the third round replay with Cardiff, expect all the big names to be back in contention today. Danny Higginbotham will miss out after picking up a hamstring injury so expect Danny Collins to move back into the first team. Jermaine Pennant was a surprise omission from the squad last time out so it will be interesting to see if he makes a return this weekend. However the big question for today is who, if anyone, will partner Kenwyne Jones in attack. Tuncay has forced his way into the squad and put in an impressive display against Bolton, albeit as an attacking midfielder rather than a striker. However Pulis likes to blood his new signings immediately so John Carew may be handed his debut having finalised his loan deal yesterday.
One To Watch
Clint Dempsey – The American is often overshadowed but can be a real handful. Some of his ball control has been excellent this season and he’s a sweet striker of the ball.
Prediction
We did the double over Fulham last season but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that they’re going to return the favour. 2-1 Loss
Category: Stoke Team News
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