Capital One Cup Preview: Stoke City - Manchester United

David Moyes – Standing Tall

Stoke City will be hosting Manchester United at the Britannia Stadium in the 5th Round of the Capital One Cup. The winner advances to the two-legged Semi-Finals. Commonly known as the League Cup, it is the brain-child of the former secretary of “The Football League” Alan Hardaker. Formerly known as the Carling cup, it was renamed as the Capital One cup after its sponsors “Capital One” who took over the sponsorship in 2012.

Mark Hughes has been fielding his best side in the Captial One cup showing his eagerness to win the cup, however he now faces a tough task of beating a resurgent Manchester United, a club where he started his career as a player. He will have to come up with something special since Stoke City has never beaten Manchester United in their last 5 encounters, losing 4 and drawing just 1 match. This could be the best chance for them to beat an injury-hit Manchester United who seem to be struggling to find form, besides Stoke City themselves are on a high having beaten Chelsea at home last week.

David Moyes on the other hand will be looking to win as many matches as possible to win back the trust of Manchester United fans who seem to be losing faith in his leadership abilities. Losing to Stoke City would only make it worse for him and his team. He certainly has his work cut out with Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic injured and Javier Hernandez a doubtful starter.

Players to watch out:

Stoke City: Oussama Assaidi has been one of the consistent players for Stoke City this season who scored the mind numbing last minute clincher against Chelsea winning the hearts of Stoke city fans and his manager. The young Moroccon will be part of the starting line up and could cause serious problems for Manchester United defense with his blistering pace and precision.

Manchester United: Antonio Valencia has been in good form this season. His short-crosses and through-balls could prove deadly for Stoke City. It could turn out to be a real goal fest if his passes keep finding an in-form Wayne Rooney in the box.

Prediction:

Stoke City most probably will stick to their favorite 4-5-1 formation with Peter Crouch as the lone forward. Their wingers will play a major role by playing as many crosses as possible into the box targeting the watch-tower Crouch. Manchester United players finally seem to have found better co-ordination. I expect most of the breaks to happen down the center and the right wing while keeping the pressure on Stoke City by having possession, constantly creating chances, however Stoke City would be dangerous on the counter-attack.

Manchester United are the favorites to win, but it won’t be a walk in the park. I predict a close fought match which may even feature the Goal Decision System — introduced in Round 5 for the first time in Capital One Cup. Manchester United should come out on top with the scoreline reading 3-1.