Manchester United 2 Stoke 1 highlights 4/1/11
United will be hoping to build a gap between themselves and the chasing pack tonight lead by their neighbours, Man City, tonight in their home encounter with Stoke. United have won all of their previous 5 matches with the Potteries and United could possibly lapse into complacency tonight, especially in front of their own crowd so Sir Alex will hoping to displace any of these feelings and United midfielder, Darren Fletcher knows that they can't subscribe to the notion that Stoke are just a gang of long ball merchants otherwise the 20 match unbeaten league run of matches will be brought to an end.
"Stoke can be physical at times,'' said Scotland skipper, Fletcher. "They put long throws and free-kicks into the box and are willing to go direct. But that is not to neglect the football players they have. Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant like to get at you and dribble. Tuncay and Ricardo Fuller are good, attacking-style players who like the ball at their feet too, so they do have options and can cause problems on the ground. Against Stoke, some teams would rather defend the corner than the throw-in," admitted Fletcher. "But the slope at Old Trafford stops them building up momentum. The pitch is bigger as well so maybe they can't get the throws quite as far into the box. It is still a danger but we prepare for it. We do our homework and try to manage it the best way we can.''
Manchester United and Stoke's standings in the premier league table 3/1/11:
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