Man Utd v Stoke preview

Sidibe: Injury worry

PREDICTIONS:

Skysports.com prediction: Man Utd 3 Stoke 1
Sky Bet odds: Man Utd 1/6 Draw 6/1 Stoke 16/1
One to Watch: Ricardo Fuller
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Stoke City aim to upset another member of the Premier League's big four when they visit Manchester United on Saturday.

Tony Pulis' side have already drawn at Liverpool, and beaten Arsenal at home, since securing promotion to the Premier League.

The Potters' last league trip to Old Trafford resulted in a 5-0 defeat in April 1985 and Pulis will be anxious to avoid a drubbing.

United have won their last seven home matches in all competitions and will be aiming to bounce back from last weekend's 2-1 loss at Arsenal.

Sir Alex Ferguson shuffled his pack for the Carling Cup win over Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday and will revert to a more familiar line-up against Stoke.

Changes

Edwin van der Sar will come back into goal, while Rafael da Silva and Gary Neville, who both started against QPR, are vying for the right-back berth with Wes Brown still out with an ankle injury.

Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Cristiano Ronaldo should all come back into the team, while Anderson, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are jostling for three central midfield positions.

Carlos Tevez's reward for scoring the winner against QPR is likely to be a place on the bench, with Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney set to be restored.

The champions will be without Owen Hargreaves for the rest of the season and Paul Scholes is about a month away from returning from a knee injury.

Sidibe worry

Stoke's biggest concern ahead of the game is Mamady Sidibe, with the imposing striker struggling with an ankle injury.

Sidibe is the only fitness worry for Pulis of the players who started last week's 0-0 draw at Wigan Athletic - a result which made it three games unbeaten for the Potters in the Premier League.

Pulis gave some of his fringe players a chance against Rotherham United in midweek and was rewarded with a 2-0 win and spot in the Carling Cup quarter-finals.

Glenn Whelan and Danny Pugh were the goalscorers, but the former is likely to be on the bench, while the latter - a former United youngster - is unlikely to make the matchday squad.

Ryan Shawcross and Danny Higginbotham started their careers at Old Trafford and will be eager to impress on their returns, while Rory Delap will hope his long throws continue to cause problems for opposition defences.

If Sidibe fails to shake off his knock, then Dave Kitson is likely to partner Ricardo Fuller as the club's record signing seeks his first goal for Stoke.

Possible starting XIs:

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Anderson, Carrick, Park, Rooney, Berbatov.

Stoke: Sorensen, Griffin, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Olofinjana, Amdy Faye, Diao, Delap, Fuller, Sidibe.