Stoke City: Pre-match stats for Stoke's Premier League clash with Aston Villa
PREVIOUS MEETING
December 19, 2009 – Premier League
ASTON VILLA 1
(Carew 61)
STOKE CITY 0
A THOROUGHLY decent Stoke display – exemplified by Danny Higginbotham's impressive return at centre-half – was laid waste by two turning points.
First came Emile Heskey's early injury to pave the way for match-winner John Carew to take to the field far earlier than he would normally have done.
And then came referee Lee Probert's controversial decision to rule out a Mama Sidibe header for allegedly using Stephen Warnock for a leg up.
Aston Villa: Friedel, L Young, Warnock, Cuellar, Dunne, A Young, Petrov, Milner, Downing (Sidwell, 81), Heskey (Carew, 23), Agbonlahor.
Stoke City: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Collins, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Whitehead, Diao (Fuller, 76), Whelan (Delap, 84), Etherington, Sidibe (Beattie, 84), Tuncay.
Attendance: 35,852.
FORM GUIDE
Stoke City: WWLLD
Aston Villa: DWWLW
WHO WE'D LIKE TO SIGN
James Milner: A real man for all seasons and most positions – and maybe even a World Cup kingpin.
WHO TO BOO
Ashley Young: How long before he's bleating to the referee about something, anything?
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Kevin Friend (Leicestershire): Premier League newcomer this term who recently sent off three players in the Portsmouth v Sunderland clash.
PROBABLE TEAMS
Stoke City: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Collins, Huth, Abdoulaye Faye, Lawrence, Delap, Whitehead, Etherington, Sidibe, Tuncay.
Aston Villa: Friedel, Cuellar, Warnock, Dunne, Collins, A Young, Petrov, Milner, Downing, Agbonlahor, Carew.
PREDICTION
HUTH heads City into a first-half lead, but Milner and Agbonlahor profit from tiring home legs to give Villa a 2-1 victory.
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