Incoming! Incoming! Derby’s dodgy defence will face Rory “the human Howitzer” Delap at the Britannia.

Stoke City v Derby County

Carling Cup

7:45pm, 2nd December,  2008

Britannia Stadium, Stoke-On-Trent

 To be fair to Stoke, there’s a lot more to them than Delap’s long throws - Stoke play to their collective strengths. It might not be pretty to watch and it might annoy the football purists like Arsene Wenger, but it is effective. Stoke currently lie 14th in the Premier League table and have 18 points. That’s already seven more than we had last year (though as someone said "that's like bragging you can beat Stephen Hawking over 100 metres").

They have beaten both Arsenal & Spurs and come away from Anfield with a creditable 0-0 draw. Only Manchester United have managed to give them a good thrashing.

 So far in the Carling Cup, Stoke have put out a weaker side - probably with the idea that an early round departure would not be a bad thing if they avoid injuring key players for the 'staying up fight'. Now with the semis and a possible final in the offing, Tony Pulis will probably play a full strength team. Only Dave Kitson (injured knee) and Michael Tonge (cup-tied) will be missing from the squad.  

 Pulis said; "We're desperate to win this game and get into the semi-finals. It would be a fantastic achievement, we'll be going for the win and my side will reflect that." 

That should mean starts for ex-Rams Rory Delap, Andy Griffin and Danny Higginbotham - I wonder which one our fans will Boo?

Stoke facts

The Rams

According to the Derby Evening Telegraph, we will have over 5000 fans at the Britannia tonight. Paul Jewell said; “It’s fanstastic having such support, I think Stoke have got the loudest fans in the country, apparently, so it’s going to be a cracking atmosphere and, hopefully, we can give our supporters something to shout about. We didn’t do that at Burnley on Saturday and we let them down.”

 Must have seen a different set of Stoke fans to me for one thing and another is I’m getting tired of being told we’re wonderful fans and that the team has let us down.  

Jewell went on; “Hopefully, the fans can spur us on tonight. We shouldn’t need spurring on, as it’s the quarter-final of a cup competition, but the fans are terrific and having them there behind the goal when we run out will give us the lift we need.”

He's right they shouldn't need spurring on - but in the last few games we've seen an alarming backslide into last season. Okay the injuries to our key centre halves haven't helped but other teams have to deal with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune - why can't we? 

The centre-half situation doesn't explain why Kris Commons is playing so badly. This is a highly rated player who has shown only flashes of his ability at Pride Park. It’s up to the manager to get the best out of him.

 What about Paul Green? He’s been a revelation so far this season but in the last few games he's continuously losing the ball and being beaten by everyone. 

Hulse, Villa, Ellington? Which is the best partnership or should Barazite be bought into it? Why has Dickinson gone out on loan if - as Saturday's result suggests - he's good enough for this level now? 

On Saturday, new signing Luke Varney played on the wing in the second half - what does this say about the Australian wingers we have at the club? Are they worse than a converted centre forward on his debut?  

These are all questions Paul Jewell needs to answer. Some of the fans around me on Saturday are losing patience and a tame surrender tonight might have others joining them 

Luke Varney & Nacer Barazite will not feature tonight due to being cup tied. 

Mick's team; Bywater, Connolly, Tomkins, Powell, Nyatanga, Commons, Green, Addison, Stewart, Ellington, Villa

What the bookies think

Even without Saturday’s performance, Stoke would be favourites for this - and William Hill is only offering 8/11 on a Stoke victory. You can get 3/1 on the Rams while a full-time draw is at 12/5.

 Ricardo Fuller is 6/4 favourite to score while injured Dave Kitson is at 7/4 - William Hill not keeping up again.  Emanuel Villa is our favourite at 11/4.  

Information for travelling fans

Driving: It is 35 miles and less than an hour provided you have a clear run. Take the A50 past Uttoxeter and stay on it until you see the Britannia on the left.

Parking: Car parking at the stadium costs £5 but I’ve never got near enough to the stadium to park – and that was when it wasn’t full. There are some commercial sites offering parking near the old Victoria ground but it can be problematic getting out of there after the game. Don’t park on any of the wasteland or industrial estates around there or you will get a ticket.

Drinking: If you get there early enough for a pint, you will find there’s nowhere to drink near the stadium. I wouldn’t recommend going into Stoke Pubs in colours. Footballgroundguide.com says; “‘there is a Holiday Inn and Harvester Pub next to the ground. Car parking in the Harvester car park costs £3'. Also close to the stadium is a Power League complex that also has a bar, which also allows in away fans, shows SKY television and you can even park in their car park for £4.50.”

Mick’s prediction

Stoke seem to be good at scoring from set pieces while we are poor at defending them. You don’t need to be a genius to see how that’s likely to work out. That said – the pressure is more on Stoke than us for this game and the cup is a great leveler.  Wouldn’t be surprised at anything to be honest.

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls