Date: Wednesday, December 18 Venue: Britannia Stadium Kick-Off: 19:45 Can Manchester United follow neighbours City into the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup, or will we see another giant slaying when Stoke entertain the English champions?
Team News
Stoke City will once more be without Robert Huth, with the defender still recovering from knee surgery. However, winger Matthew Etherington could be called back into the side after returning to first team training following a back injury. Manchester United manager David Moyes has reported no fresh injury concerns. Darren Fletcher could feature after returning from a serious bowel problem against Aston Villa at the weekend. (bbc)
Key Stats
Stoke have never lost a home cup tie against United, and beat the Red Devils on their run to the 1972 League Cup final. United have won the last four meetings between the two sides - all of which have come in the Premier League. The last was a 3-2 win at Old Trafford in late October. The Potters have reached the quarter-finals five times in their history, last progressing beyond this stage with victory against Bristol Rovers en route to winning the competition in 1971-72. The Red Devils have lost their last two quarter-final ties, against Crystal Palace and West Ham United respectively.
Likely Line-Ups
Stoke City Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters, Palacios, NZonzi, Pennant, Ireland, Shea, Jones Man United Lindegaard, Rafael, Jones, Evans, Fabio, Nani, Fletcher, Giggs, Zaha, Rooney, Welbeck
Match Preview
Manchester United will be hoping to continue their revival in fortunes by reaching the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup when they travel to Stoke City this evening. However, United's form against Stoke in cup competition is poor, having never beaten the Potters away from home outside the Premier League. The English champions have also lost their last two League Cup quarter-finals, and will be all too aware of the potential for an upset, having watched Sunderland dump Chelsea out of the competition on Tuesday night. With a busy Christmas schedule to negotiate, both sides will likely field weakened teams, with Stoke concentrating on retaining their topflight status having won but one of their last four games, and United likewise trying to haul themselves back into the title race. But I still think the Red Devils will be too strong for their opponents, and I'm going for a narrow away victory. Prediction: 1-2