English Premier League leaders Manchester United will face Tony Pulis’ physical Stoke City on Tuesday night. Man UTD assistant manager Mike Phelan is wary of the Potters’ strength ahead of the match...
Seven places and 14 points separate Stoke City from the Red Devils in the English Premier League standings as both teams prepare to face each other at Old Trafford tonight. However, despite his side’s seize in terms of history, advantage and league position, Manchester United’s assistant Mike Phelan feels the need to be worried ahead of the encounter.
Phelan even went as far as comparing the importance of the Manchester United vs Stoke City game as any top English Premier League fixture against the rest of the Big 4. Talking to the Red Devils’ official website, the assistant manager was quoted as saying:
“Stoke, for us, is as big a game as playing Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool – purely because they demand a high level of attention to detail.
“They are a very good team. They’ve sustained their Premier League status for a third successive season now [after winning promotion a few years ago] and they are a competitive side.
“[Stoke City] certainly give you a run for your money. We respect Stoke a lot for the way the club is run and for what they’ve achieved.
“One thing that we do know is that we’ve got to be fully focused when we play them. There is more attention to detail in those situations [when Stoke City take set-pieces].
“We analyze Stoke as we do with any other team, and we pay them the respect that they deserve.
“They challenge you in all areas of the field and you’ve got to be committed. If we can do that, then hopefully we will have the quality to win the game.”
Manchester United vs Stoke City is just one of the Red Devils’ next three crunch fixtures. They’ve got an FA Cup match to play against Liverpool this weekend and a meeting against Spurs in the English Premier League later in mid-January. In the meantime, Man United will be hoping to overcome the Potters’ tricks.
Stoke City are fresh from defeating Everton 2-0 and they could well embarrass Manchester United as well. Despite remaining unbeaten since the start of the season, the Red Devils have already drawn up to 8 English Premier League matches in 19 match-days. It will be vital for them to hit victory number 12 tonight as they look forward to prevent Manchester City and Arsenal from stealing the top spot in the table standings.
Phelan even went as far as comparing the importance of the Manchester United vs Stoke City game as any top English Premier League fixture against the rest of the Big 4. Talking to the Red Devils’ official website, the assistant manager was quoted as saying:
“Stoke, for us, is as big a game as playing Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool – purely because they demand a high level of attention to detail.
“They are a very good team. They’ve sustained their Premier League status for a third successive season now [after winning promotion a few years ago] and they are a competitive side.
“[Stoke City] certainly give you a run for your money. We respect Stoke a lot for the way the club is run and for what they’ve achieved.
“One thing that we do know is that we’ve got to be fully focused when we play them. There is more attention to detail in those situations [when Stoke City take set-pieces].
“We analyze Stoke as we do with any other team, and we pay them the respect that they deserve.
“They challenge you in all areas of the field and you’ve got to be committed. If we can do that, then hopefully we will have the quality to win the game.”
Manchester United vs Stoke City is just one of the Red Devils’ next three crunch fixtures. They’ve got an FA Cup match to play against Liverpool this weekend and a meeting against Spurs in the English Premier League later in mid-January. In the meantime, Man United will be hoping to overcome the Potters’ tricks.
Stoke City are fresh from defeating Everton 2-0 and they could well embarrass Manchester United as well. Despite remaining unbeaten since the start of the season, the Red Devils have already drawn up to 8 English Premier League matches in 19 match-days. It will be vital for them to hit victory number 12 tonight as they look forward to prevent Manchester City and Arsenal from stealing the top spot in the table standings.
