PREVIOUS MEETING

January 1, 2008

Stoke City 1

(Cort 33)

Hull City 1

(Folan 63)

THE New Year opened with Stoke pegged back by a team they would later go head-to-head with over automatic promotion.

Leon Cort netted against his old club when glancing in a Rory Delap throw (you see, they did exist before the Premier League).

Jon Parkin narrowly failed to repeat the dose against his old club when his shot some six minutes later was cleared before it could trickle over the line.

And Stoke paid a hefty price when Dean Windass crossed for Caleb Folan to head level just after the hour to leave Hull ninth, five points behind Stoke in fourth.

Stoke: Simonsen, Wright (Zakuani, 83), Pugh, Cort, Shawcross, Lawrence, Eustace, Delap, Cresswell, Sidibe (Dickinson, 66), Parkin (Pericard, 77).

Hull: Myhill, Ricketts, Dawson, Turner, Brown, Garcia, Ashbee, Livermore, Hughes (Elliott, 83), Windass (Barmby, 73), Folan.

Attendance: 15,788.

FORM GUIDE

Stoke City: WWWLW

Hull City: LLLDD

WHO WE'D LIKE TO SIGN

Geovanni. With him on free-kicks and Delap on throws, it would only leave a corner specialist to tie up all set-pieces.

WHO TO BOO

Geovanni will get the bird every time he stands over any free-kick within 40 yards of goal.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Keith Stroud (Hants). Only his fourth Premier League game of the season and his first involving Stoke since January's 1-1 draw at Ipswich.

PROBABLE TEAMS

Stoke: Sorensen, Griffin, Higginbotham, Cort, Ab Faye, Soares, Diao, Am Faye, Delap, Sidibe, Fuller.

Hull: Myhill, McShane, Ricketts, Zayatte, Turner, Boateng, Ashbee, Marney, Geovanni, Cousin, King.

PREDICTION

Marlon King strikes to leave Stoke chasing a game they salvage through Leon Cort's late header.