The Soccer Blog: Match Preview: Stoke City vs Manchester City 27/11/10 15:00

Sunday, 28 November 2010

Match Preview: Stoke City vs Manchester City 27/11/10 15:00

By: joehigginson | November 27th, 2010

The Teams

Roberto Mancini began his tenure as Manchester City boss against Stoke last December. Had he not silenced (or muffled) his critics last week following their demolition of Fulham, he may well have been approaching today’s fixture as his last stand. As it is, his side have found their shooting boots but face a Stoke team in their richest vein of form since returning to the Premier League. I’m immensely looking forward to this match as no Premier League fixture against Man City has yet to disappoint in terms of quality and entertainment.

I’ve heard this game described recently as a meeting between two circles of footballing hell, one team ruining the game on the pitch, the other off it. While both may disagree with these perceptions, this is undoubtedly a fixture most neutrals will want to keep an eye on. City’s owners will expect them to win but Mancini will know better. Stoke played City three times in a row last season with a league fixture played around an epic FA cup tie. The results of all three over 90 minutes were 1-1 draws (with Stoke ultimately winning the FA Cup tie after extra time) and many found it difficult to distinguish City’s mega-stars from Stokes bruisers. Since that time, City have obviously improved with several big name summer signings but they remain vulnerable away from home. What worries most this year is the injection of strength their squad has had; players ready to compete with Stokes physicality and height advantage.

Stoke are fortunate to meet City today with their defence in fine form as today will be no bigger test of their credentials against world class opposition. If players like Ryan Shawcross want to prove their worth to the national team then this is the match to do it. City are aware their fans won’t accept them playing deep in this fixture and pressure will increase on the manager immensely should this finish a drab 0-0. With that in mind, I see City swamping the centre of the park and it seems more than likely we will have a defence minded approach today. Birmingham defended resolutely recently to frustrate City and come away with a point. Fulham on the other hand saw the back four completely lose their heads last week and they were rolled over all too easily. I’m not being negative and suggesting we should play for a draw but I expect opportunities for the front two to be extremely limited.

The Line-up

The biggest omission from Stokes line up will likely be Jermaine Pennant, who tweaked his hamstring early in last weeks game with West Brom. Scan reports were positive, indicating at a speedy recovery period but it’s unlikely he will be risked today. Mamady Sidibe obviously remains a long term absence while Andy Wilkinson is also a doubt with a sore knee. With that in mind, I can imagine Tuncay and Danny Higginbotham both being drafted into what otherwise remains an unchanged side. Last week’s super sub Jon Walters may have done enough to earn a starting place so we’ll wait and see.

It’s a very difficult job to accurately predict a Man City line-up. One certain exclusion will be Pablo Zabaleta, who picked up his fifth booking of the season last week so there may be an opportunity for Joleon Lescott. Apart from that it’s anyone’s guess with both Gareth Barry and Jerome Boateng verging on full fitness after ankle injuries. However it’s difficult to see them making too many changes to the side that dismantled Fulham last week. Mario Balotelli, returning from a three match suspension, will likely replace Jo in attack and if Mancini wants to compete physically, he may choose to draft Patrick Vieira in to line up in a formidable trio with Nigel de Jong and Yaya Toure.

One To Watch

Mario Balotelli – The Italian would be a dream signing for Stoke and I really hope he plays today. His aggression and strength will be more than a match for Stokes centre backs and it will be fascinating to see how Shawcross and Rob Huth do battle with him.

Prediction

Another difficult one this week as the result very much depends on the way City set themselves up. Going on past results alone, I’m predicting a high quality encounter that will nevertheless finish just 1-1, with at least one moment of controversy!

Category: Stoke Team News

Tags: Manchester City, Stoke Team News
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