TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Squad sheets: Manchester City v Stoke City There could be no better test as Roberto Mancini's first game as Manchester City manager, since failure to beat the likes of Burnley, Bolton and Hull was the principal reason Mark Hughes lost his job. Mancini was asked pointedly at his first press conference how he intended to deal with Rory Delap to test his knowledge of Stoke's style of play. Given that Manchester City's expensively-assembled defence has conceded nine times in their last three matches, there is considerable room for improvement. Up front Mancini may feel under pressure to restore Robinho and Emmanuel Adebayor, both discarded by Hughes in his final game. Tim RichVenue City of Manchester StadiumTickets Sold outLast season Manchester City 3 Stoke 0Referee L MasonThis season's matches 10 Y28, R4, 3.20 cards per gamesportingbet odds Manchester City 2-5 Stoke 25-4 Draw 3-1Manchester CitySubs from Taylor, Richards, De Jong, Weiss, Garrido, Vidal, Petrov, Benjani, Adebayor, BellamyDoubtful Richards (knee)Injured Onuoha (groin, 26 Jan), Bridge (knee, 31 Jan), Lescott (knee, Feb), Johnson (knee, May)Suspended NoneForm guide WLDWDDDisciplinary record Y24 R2Leading scorers Adebayor, Bellamy, Tevez 6StokeSubs from Simonsen, Sidibe, Collins, Higginbotham, Diao, Griffin, Cort, Pugh, Arismendi, Lawrence, BeattieDoubtful Shawcross (groin)Injured Am Faye (back, unknown)Suspended NoneForm guide LDLDWLDisciplinary record Y34 R1Leading scorers Beattie, Etherington, Shawcross 2Match pointers• None of the last 14 league meetings between these sides have ended in a draw• Manchester City have gone seven games without keeping a clean sheet and have conceded three goals in each of their last three matches• Stoke have scored the fewest goals in the division (14) and the least after half-time (six) this season• After scoring only two goals in his first 12 Premier League appearances for City, Carlos Tevez now has four goals from his last four games• Although Stoke lost their last match, they have managed to avoid consecutive defeats for 20 matchesManchester CityStoke CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Fabregas focused on injury, not possible transfer Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas played down speculation that his future lies outside the Premier League as he works to overcome a hamstring injury. cbc.ca |
Scotland manager Craig Levein insists upon old friend Michael Oliver as full-time scout Full-time scout Michael Oliver will try to tip balance in Scotland's favour. telegraph.co.uk |
Win the chance to be a flag-bearer at a Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final Four lucky young fans will be official Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final flag-bearers. telegraph.co.uk |
Police Identify Suspect in Cabanas Shooting MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Police identified a suspect in the shooting of Paraguay soccer star Salvador Cabanas, who was ''showing favorable signs'' Tuesday after being shot in the head in a bar in a fashionable neighborhood. feeds.nytimes.com |