An unbeaten run can do wonders for morale around a football club. Just ask Birmingham, their fifteen matches without defeat between October and January took them from being newly-promoted lower-mid table occupants to top eight challengers, earning them the respect and plaudits of football fans everywhere and raising confidence in their players to sky-high levels. It’s nothing of those standards, but Stoke are still unbeaten in 2010, having won three and drawn two of their matches this year to date. This weekend’s Premier League home match against Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn provides the perfect chance to continue this good run and now the distraction of the transfer window, which Potters manager Tony Pulis described as a “circus” is over, provide a springboard for a strong final three months of the season.
Blackburn sit one place and two points above Stoke in the Premier League table, but they have played two games more than Pulis’s side, who will leapfrog them into eleventh position if they are able to come away from tomorrow’s game with all three points. Rovers themselves have been on a decent run recently, picking up a very good win over Fulham and a respectable draw at West Ham and look set to be guided to safety by the wily Allardyce. They do though have an unquestionably shaky defence and have shipped 40 goals from 24 top flight matches this term, more than rock bottom Portsmouth, with 28 of those coming on the road. Puliswill help that his players are able to seize on this and make that all-important breakthrough early on and will be able to see out a comfortable victory and sent Blackburn home empty handed for the ninth time out of thirteen away games this campaign.
Pulis, taking charge of a Stoke side for the 300th time, could well be without captain Abdoulaye Faye though, as the Senegalese centre back is still struggling with a back injury picked up in Monday night’s dull goalless draw at Sunderland. Andy Wilkinson will in all likelihood come into his starting eleven at right back, with Robert Huth moving to play alongside Ryan Shawcross in the heart of the defence. Pulis has an otherwise fully fit and available squad, with his main headache ahead of the match coming in attack, as Tuncay, Ricardo Fuller and Mamady Sidibe will all stake a strong claim to starting the match. His only signing of the transfer window was 22 year-old goalkeeper Asmir Begović, withthe Bosnian moving to the Britannia Stadium from Portsmouth for £3.25 million five minutes before Monday’s deadline. He looks set to be made to wait for his debut though, with Pulis dropping hints this week that regular ‘keeper Thomas Sorensen will continue in goal.
Blackburn also made only one significant capture in January, that being the diminutive Turkish international midfielder Yildiray Basturk who has joined on loan from Stuttgart. The 1,400 travelling fans will have to wait for their first chance to see him ina ction though, as he is said to be too unfit to feature. Creative midfielder David Dunn will also miss out with a calf injury first sustained in the last meeting of the two clubs, a scoreless but eventful draw at Ewood Park in November, as will defender Lars Jacobsen who has a thigh problem. Allardyce has been given one major boost ahead of the game however, with Australian midfielder returned after two months on the sidelines.
Key Battles:
Mamady Sidibe v Christopher Samba
With a combined heght of more than twelve and a half feet, Sidibe versus Samba looks like being a heavyweight clash of African muscle. Stoke’s Malian target man, who signed a new two year contract yesterday, will hope to celebrate by getting the better of Blackburn’s Congolese centre back.
Rory Delap v Paul Robinson
Rovers ‘keeper Robinson is looking to play his way into Fabio Capello’s plans for the Enngland World Cup squad next summer and he could greatly improve his standing by successfully negotiating one of the most dreaded threats in world football, the Rory Delap long throw.
Andy Wilkinson v Morten Gamst Pedersen
Norwegian winger Pedersen is probably Blackburn’s biggest threat going forward and after a barren year or so he is close to producing his very best again. He can be a tricky player and given a chance has excellent delivery, so Wilkinson will look to be typically quick and strong in the tackle.
Blackburn’s Star Man: Morten Gamst Pedersen
When Ernst Pedersen’s son Morten was born in Vasdo, Norway in 1981, he had a novel way of ensuring he became a professional footballer, training him to use his left foot instead of his natural right, as he believed there is reduced supply and therefore high demand for left-footed players. It seemed to work, and Morten, who has played his whole career on the left wing signed his first professional deal for Norwegian Premier Division club Tromso in 2000. After scoring an immensely impressive 43 goals in 85 appearances for the club, he earned a £1.5 million move to Blackburn in 2004, earmarked as the successor to Damien Duff, who had left for Chelsea. He has been a key figure under several managers at Ewood Park ever since and has to date scored 38 goals in 225 matches, as well as providing more than 40 assists. He has 54 caps for his country and has scored twelve international goals, the most recent coming against Scotland last August, but he still finds time to front “The Players”, a boyband consisting of five Norwegian professional footballers, whose debut single “This Is For Real” became popular throughout Scandanavia.
My Prediction:
Stoke City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers – I foresee a repeat of last season’s scoreline at the Britannia Stadium, the win for the Potters coming thanks to a goal from Tuncay.
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