Man United's turn to face Delap delivery
Reuters - Thursday 13 November 2008, 02:00
Champions Manchester United will
be the latest team to try to cope with Stoke City's long-throw
specialist Rory Delap when they host the Premier League
newcomers on Saturday.
United, aiming to get their title defence back on track
after last week's 2-1 loss at Arsenal, face a very different
threat in Delap whose delivery has caused penalty box mayhem all
season, not least against Arsene Wenger's men at the start of
the month.
Stoke have taken 10 points from a possible 15, including
wins over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, to climb out of the
relegation places to 12th and captain Andy Griffin has defended
their reliance on the Ireland midfielder's deadly set pieces.
"As a club we have to be selfish, we want to survive in the
Premier League, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks,"
Griffin, who won just one top-flight game as a Derby County
player last season, told British media.
"Our way of football has got us results, we're not in this
league to try and please other people, it's about Stoke staying
in this league.
"We feel if we can beat Arsenal then surely on our day if
things go well we can do the same against United."
United, who fell two points behind Arsenal to fourth and are
a further six behind pace-setters Chelsea and Liverpool with a
game in hand, suffered a further blow when England midfielder
Owen Hargreaves was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Hargreaves, who has started only twice this term and has
been troubled by serious knee problems since arriving from
Bayern Munich last year, joins fellow midfielder Paul Scholes on
the sidelines.
STRIKERS RETURN
Leaders Chelsea continue their collective return to full
fitness by welcoming Didier Drogba back for the trip to
bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion.
The Ivory Coast captain, who scored in the surprise League
Cup defeat to Burnley on Wednesday, must displace or work
alongside the Premier League's top scorer Nicolas Anelka if he
is to make only his second league start of the campaign.
Liverpool, behind Luis Felipe Scolari's side on goal
difference, were also boosted by the return of their top striker
on Wednesday when Fernando Torres played 56 minutes of the
club's second loss at Tottenham in two weeks.
The Spain striker is likely to start again in Saturday's
early game at Bolton Wanderers who have climbed from last
to 11th thanks to two successive wins.
Arsene Wenger, who watched his Arsenal youngsters sparkle again in
the League Cup in midweek, will expect his more experienced men
to assert their superiority when they host Aston Villa,
one point behind United in fifth.
Tottenham Hotspur's revival under new boss Harry Redknapp
faces a test close to home at Fulham while on Sunday
early high flyers Hull will be looking for a first point since
October when they host out-of-form Manchester City.
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