Stoke City vs. Manchester City – Match Preview 25/1/2013

Stoke vs City

Stoke City vs. Manchester City – Match Preview

Venue and Timings

The match will kick-off at the Britannia Stadium on 25^th January 2013 at 1245 GMT (1745 PST and 1815 IST).

Team Form

Stoke City

Stoke will play a strong team against Manchester City as they rested the major part of their team against Crystal Palace.

Andy Wilkinson had picked up a back injury against Palace and he was substituted. If he is rested, Dean Whitehead will replace him, like he did against Swansea.

Thomas Sorensen could replace Asmir Begovic as the goalkeeper because he has been used more often in cu competitions.

Manchester City

Zabaleta is likely to play against Stoke after recovering from an ankle sprain.

Maicon and Richards remain ruled out.

Kolo and Yaya Toure are still away playing the African Cup of Nations.

Recent Meetings

Star Man

Peter Crouch (Stoke): The 31-year old England forward happens to be a great striker. He has scored 4 goals and has made 3 assists from 14 appearances in all competitions. Though his holding onto the ball is weak, his height helps him to make strong aerial duels. Crouch likes to make short passes and he does not dive onto tackles.

David Silva (Manchester City): David Silva is one of the most significant players for Manchester City. Silva makes complete key passes and they are known to be his biggest strength. His holding on-to the ball is strong and he can provide some good amount of set-pieces threat. He likes to do lay-offs and take set-pieces as well. Despite not scoring many goals and making many assists, he is still City’s key player. 

My prediction: 2 – 1 to Manchester City. Manchester City’s attacking is much stronger than Stoke’s defence. However, at Britannia Stadium, it is always hard to win for other teams and the Stoke fans will give a tough time to City. However, it is understood that City will win this one.

Written by Rida Mehtab (@RidaaMehtaab on Twitter)