Manchester City will renew their bid for silverware this season as they host Stoke in the FA Cup.
Blues to renew cup bid while Stoke hope to pull off another upset
Manchester City will renew their bid for silverware this season as they host Stoke in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.
It is now 34 years since City last won a major trophy and they have set their sights on ending that run this term following vast investment from their Abu-Dhabi-based owners.
Their first hope was the Carling Cup but city rivals United claimed a 4-3 aggregate win in the semi-final last month to deny them a first Wembley cup final since 1981.
City's attention has now turned to the FA Cup and their chances have been boosted by early exits for United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
It was Stoke that dumped Arsenal out in the last round, however, enjoying a 3-1 win at the Britannia Stadium.
Tony Pulis' men are unbeaten in seven games in 2010, a run which also saw them claim comfortable home wins against Fulham and Blackburn, putting them 12th in the Premier League table.
The Potters have won just one away game in the league this season, while the Blues are unbeaten at home, but Pulis has vowed to adopt a positive approach at Eastlands.
The Stoke boss should not expect counterpart Roberto Mancini to field an under-strength side, though.
City's Italian coach brought in some fringe players for the 4-2 win at Scunthorpe in the fourth round but with pressure on to deliver immediate success and the draw opening up, he is set to stick with a similar side to that which won 2-0 at home to Bolton in midweek.
Stoke drew 1-1 at Wigan and have beaten the Blues as recently as last season, claiming a 1-0 home win last January, but their last meeting on Boxing Day saw goals by Martin Petrov and Carlos Tevez give Man City a 2-0 home win in Mancini's first game in charge.
This will be the fourth time the two clubs have met in the FA Cup, and a sixth-round tie between them in 1933/34 attracted a crowd of 84,569 to City's former Maine Road home, which remains the record attendance for an English club ground.
Team news
Mancini will be without his new signing Adam Johnson, who is cup-tied.
The young winger has impressed in his first two appearances for the Blues since signing from Middlesbrough in January but played for Boro in City's 1-0 third-round win at the Riverside.
That heralds a recall for either Shaun Wright-Phillips, who returned from the bench against Bolton in midweek, or Martin Petrov.
Fit-again England defender Joleon Lescott also came off the bench in midweek to make his first appearance in two months and is set to return to the starting line-up in place of Vincent Kompany.
Lescott replaced Kolo Toure, who was forced off with a knee injury, but the injury is not as serious as first feared so Toure is expected to retain his place as Kompany is doubftul with a groin injury.
Craig Bellamy was ruled out in midweek after consulting a specialist about his ongoing knee problem and the Welsh forward will not considered again until next weekend's game against Liverpool.
Stoke will check on the fitness of several players before naming their side.
Pulis confirmed that one or two un-named players had minor knocks, while captain Abdoulaye Faye may be ready to return in defence after missing the last two matches with a back problem.
Ricardo Fuller was a second-half substitute in midweek after being arrested over allegations of a nightclub assault and is pushing for a return to the starting line-up.
Potters midfielder Glenn Whelan will be keen to make a positive impression against the club that released him in 2004 aged 20 after making just one first-team appearance.
