Stoke City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. The FA Cup Third Round.
Bet365 Stadium.
Saturday 7 January 2017 15:31, UK
Ibrahim Afellay will start for Stoke in their third-round FA Cup meeting with Wolves on Saturday.
The Netherlands international only recently returned from a knee injury and made his first start of the season in the 4-2 defeat to Chelsea on New Year's Eve.
"If we can get him through 90 minutes then that would be fantastic for him, and also for us of course," said Stoke manager Mark Hughes, a four-time FA Cup winner as a player.
"We will see how the match pans out though, and if he does 80, 75 or even an hour, that will still be good for him."
Stoke's recent form has been inconsistent, with two wins, two defeats and a draw from their last five matches.
But Hughes is keen for cup success, saying: "We would like to go all the way if we possibly can - that is certainly our intention this year, just as it is every year.
"I show by the teams that I pick that I don't go weak in the competition. We know that this is realistically one of our only real opportunities of winning a trophy."
Wolves are 16th in the Sky Bet Championship after losing to QPR on New Year's Eve and then drawing with Sheffield Wednesday on Monday.
Team news
Marc Muniesa is in contention for Stoke after a spell on the sidelines but Jon Walters is out through injury.
Wilfried Bony, Mame Biram Diouf and Ramadan Sobhi are all unavailable as they are at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Wolves manager Paul Lambert has hinted he will ring the changes, meaning Dominic Iorfa, Kortney Hause, Mike Williamson and Prince Oniangue could feature.
Opta stats
Stoke have lost seven of their nine FA Cup matches against Wolves (W1 D1), but did win the most recent encounter in January 2011.
Wolves have lost their last six FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition - most recently losing 1-0 to West Ham in round three last season - scoring just one goal in those six games.
Since they earned promotion to the Premier League in 2008, Stoke have only failed to progress to round four of the FA Cup once, losing 2-0 to Hartlepool in January 2009; they have won their last seven third round ties.
Wolves have won two of their last 18 visits to Stoke in all competitions (D6 L10).
