Team for Stoke

[mil1lion]

Gomes

Corluka....Dawson....Bassong....Ekotto

Kranjcar....Palacios....Modric....Bale

Pavlyuchenko....Defoe​

Same again? Or do we add a bit more height. I think we already have a fair bit of height in there, and i think we're too good to worry too much about Stoke. So i'd stick with this.​

 

[RickyVilla]

Gonna be tough as hell up there but agree with the team you have picked. Am a bit worried Modders might get a bit overrun but thats what the Sarge is there for, to help him out.

 

[whitelightwhiteheat]

I agree with mil1lion's team in the OP. It picks itself really, and is pretty solid.

 

[stevenqoz]

Let Stoke worry about us. The team you have named is the one to go with. At this stage of the season we just have to be brave, play our football, attack everyone! We struggle as a defensive side and are best on the front foot.

 

[DEFchenkOE]

Feel that we'll need massive performances from Dawson and Gomes to get anything out of this match.

 

[Kendall]

If Jenas is back I'd go:

Gomes

Corluka Dawson Bassong Bale

Kranjcar Jenas Palacios Modric

Pavlyuchenko Defoe​

If not, then same team as mil1lion's. IF we'd managed to get Livermore on the pitch against Blackburn I'd prefer to have him and Wilson in the midfield, but throwing him in at the deep end away to Stoke isn't ideal.

 

[Coyboy]

I thought Ekotto and Bale were trific down the left and Kranjcar hasn't been great recently so would have Modric coming in from the right if Jenas is back- if not than as above.

Bentley may be back, but shouldn't make the first eleven.

 

[HodisGawd]

Hope 'Arry isn't tempted to throw in Crouch to deal with their set pieces, because in my opinion there's no need to change anything. Crouch could have an important role off the bench but I'd go with the same team. And surely Jenas can't walk straight back into the side???

 

[Kendall]

I've been very unimpressed the couple of times Modric has played on the right. I think he's at his most influential cutting in, with Bale exploiting the space.

I thought BAE and Bale were good too, but Blackeye are hopeless and Stoke aren't.

 

[Bulletspur]

Keep the same team and play to our strengths which is attacking. If we do this well, we then do not have to worry about their set pieces in our box as they will be busy defending. Let them worry about us!

 

[Coyboy]

But he is only on the right notionally, as he will cut inside and have two central midfielders covering his back. Also, whether he has been good or not on the right one time or other isn't important as he is doing the same job as he does on the left and will turn up everywhere.

He also plays very well with Corluka as we saw for his goal against Everton.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Tough one as we played pretty well against Blackburn and that team should be good enough to see off Stoke.

I'm a bit concerned about Modric's presence (or lack thereof) in central midfield against a team like Stoke but he had his best game in central midfield against their bruisers last season so hopefully it'll be okay.

 

[StanSpur]

I feel either Jenas or Kaboul will come in for BAE for this gaem to add a little more height and legs to the middle of the park against what is sure to be a very competitive Stoke side. I see Wilson getting his 10th yellow of the season in this and missing the Fulham and Pompy games.

 

[talkshowhost86]

I don't really see what JJ would bring to the party in this game. The idea seems to be that he'd give us some extra strength/bite compared to Modric but in his last few games for us he's offered neither of those things.

I think playing Bale at LM makes sense. If we play Modric and Kranjcar on 'the wings' then we'll get very narrow and I think that suits Stoke more than us. Bale can give us some width and stretch them a bit.

 

[mil1lion]

Not to mention the fitness of Jenas. He wont be 100%, and he hasn't started in a while. According to reports he misses out anyway, but if he is in the squad, he could be a good sub to come on and tighten things up a bit.

I would prefer Kranjcar on the right to Modric aswell. He has a better cross on him, and Modric really needs to pull the strings while Huddlestone is out injured.

 

[DJS]

If Jenas is back I'd go:

Gomes​

Corluka Dawson Bassong Bale​

Kranjcar Jenas Palacios Modric​

Pavlyuchenko Defoe​

If not, then same team as mil1lion's. IF we'd managed to get Livermore on the pitch against Blackburn I'd prefer to have him and Wilson in the midfield, but throwing him in at the deep end away to Stoke isn't ideal.

This.

 

[talkshowhost86]

This.

Wrong! :wink:

I just think that makes us very narrow in midfield which would result in us playing Stoke at their own game...ie a big punchup in midfield peppered with some throw ins from Delap.

If JJ was fit/any good anymore I'd say maybe but as he isn't I don't think bringing him in helps us a great deal.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

Stoke have a fully fit squad right now, and we all know what they have done to us in the past - whatever we do we can't get complacent. No luxuries or unknown quantities for this one, we need the points.

 

[Danny1]

No way should JJ get back in the starting 11, on the bench definitely! He hasnt played for a good while, plus was completely lacking confidence before he got injured so he doesnt deserve to start.

Same team for me, is everyone forgetting how good Modric was last year against Stoke..........? Sometimes against the bruisers of the league it is a good idea to have an excellent playmaker in the middle. Do Man U change their team against Stoke and the like, of course they dont because they are confident in their ability as true footballers!

COYS!

 

[ChRiStOpHe]

My line-up would be something like this:

______________Gomes___________

Corluka___Dawson___Kaboul___Bale

_________Jenas___Palacios_______

Kranjcar____Gudjohnsen_____Modric

__________Pavlyuchenko_________


I know Dawson and Kaboul were poor together in 06/07, but both have come a long way since those days, and I'd suggest those 2 would enable us to deal with the aerial threat of Big Mama and/or Kitson and/or Fuller.

Gudjohnsen sitting between the lines would cause their midfield to drop deeper to deal with him, in turn isolating their front men. This would give us control of the play, which is paramount to us winning the game.

Pav' played a similar role to this in Euro 2008, with Arshavin in behind. He's not ideal for the role, but I'd suggest he's the best we have. I love Jay to bits, but IMO, there are still question marks over his all round game away from home.