Barclays Premier League
Venue: Britannia Stadium Date: Sunday, 24 October Kick-off: 1330 BST
Coverage: Watch live on Sky Sports 1 and highlights on Match of the Day 2; listen on talkSPORT, BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles
Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller could be on the bench despite aggravating a shoulder injury at Bolton.
Midfielder Dean Whitehead serves a one-game ban after collecting his fifth booking of the season last weekend.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will be sidelined for three weeks after injuring his ankle on Tuesday.
Jonny Evans is unavailable because of a hip problem, while Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs are also ruled out.
Stoke
Suspended: Whitehead (one match)
Doubtful: Fuller (shoulder)
Injured: Sidibe (Achilles)
Manchester United
Injured: Evans (groin), Giggs (hamstring), Hargreaves (calf), Owen (groin), Rooney & Valencia (both ankle)
Manchester United are a club who specialise in extraordinary turnarounds, as Bayern Munich fans can testify, but even Red Devils supporters will have been taken aback by the amazing events at Old Trafford this week.
On Tuesday, Sir Alex Ferguson revealed Wayne Rooney wanted to leave United, news confirmed a day later by the player himself, who cited concerns about the “future squad”. Yet two days later, United announced that the striker had agreed a new five-year contract. It remains to be seen how much damage has been done to Rooney’s relationship with the United fans and, to a lesser extent, his team-mates.
Ferguson said this week there is “not a thing wrong” at the club, extolling the potential of his young players. In the short term however, United’s away record could certainly be improved – they have drawn all four league games on the road this term. They have never had to wait more than five five matches for their first away win under Sir Alex.
Rooney, who turns 25 on Sunday, will sit out the trip to Stoke because of injury, although recent history suggests he will not be missed. Stoke have lost all four of their previous Premier League games against United, conceding a dozen unanswered goals – none of them scored by Rooney.
Head-to-head
• Manchester United have claimed victories in five of their last seven league games at Stoke.
• The Potters’ last league win against the Red Devils was on Boxing Day 1984.
Stoke
• They have lost four of their last 10 league games at the Britannia (twice to Tottenham, plus Arsenal and Bolton).
• The Potters lost all six league games against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal last season, conceding 20 goals and scoring just two.
• Stoke have scored in the 48th minute in three of their last four Premier League games, including the last two.
• They have hit the woodwork nine times this season – more than any other top-flight side.
Manchester United
• They have dropped six points from winning positions – compared to only three in total last season.
• Since signing Wayne Rooney, Manchester United have won 72% of league games with him in their starting line-up, compared to 56% without him.
• The Red Devils have won only one of their last six away Premier League fixtures which followed a midweek Champions League game.
• The last time the Red Devils failed to win their first four away league games was in 1989, when they won at Coventry in their fifth outing.
Stoke
Jones: 4 goals (3 league)
Man Utd
Berbatov: 7 goals (6 league); Nani: 4 goals (3 league)
Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistant referees: Mike Cairns & Martin Yerby
Fourth official: Mike Jones
Stoke (L1-2 v Bolton, a): Sorensen, Huth, Shawcross, Faye, Collins, Pennant (Fuller 67, Gudjohnsen 77), Delap, Whitehead, Etherington, Walters (Whelan 86), Jones.
Subs Not Used: Begovic, Higginbotham, Wilson, Wilkinson.
Manchester United (D2-2 v West Brom, h): Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Carrick (Scholes 71), Anderson (Rooney 71), Giggs (Gibson 42), Berbatov, Hernandez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Smalling, O’Shea, Macheda.
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