Stoke City have had a real shortage of victories this season.
The club has managed only five wins throughout this campaign and most of their points have come from the draws against the likes of West Ham United. The potters will be taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday. This match comes just days after the club suffered its second consecutive defeat at the hands of Liverpool. A Glen Johnson goal was enough to earn Liverpool a 1-0 victory, but it was more bad news for Stoke City who had been beaten 2-1 by Burnley only a few days ago.
United are on a resurgent run of form and Mark Hughes will need a full complement of players in order to rotate them and keep them fresh for the trip to Old Trafford. He does not have a great record against United, but the presence of experienced players like Phil Bardsley can help him get a result. The former Sunderland defender remains a doubt for the match, but Hughes confirmed that he expects the 29-year-old to be available. The Scottish defender has been an ever present for Stoke this campaign and his has been featured in 15 matches of all competitions.
“Phil Bardsley trained today and we feel he should be ok for the Manchester United game tomorrow,” said Hughes during the pre-match press conference. Bardsley was unavailable for the defeat against Liverpool in which Stoke played really well but did not get any reward. Their performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford has not been great in recent history. This makes the trip especially more difficult considering that United are on a good run of form. They have been undefeated at Old Trafford since the opening day of the season. This form has seen them move to third place in the table.