Follow every kick as Stoke City take on Portsmouth at Britannia Stadium in the Premier League
on 22-Nov-2009, kick off time 16:00
Stoke City v Portsmouth Live
Stoke City will be aiming to get back to winning ways at their Britannia Stadium home on Sunday in their clash against a rejuvenated Portsmouth side who will be looking to clamber off the bottom of the table. Tony Pulis will have drilled home the importance for his players to concentrate following the 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers during their last home game on October 31. His side had led 2-0 and looked comfortable against a toothless Wolves attack before dropping a valuable two points. Then in their next game, at Hull City, they threw away a goal lead before going down 2-1, with old boy Seyi Olofinjana scoring the winner. Stoke sit comfortably in ninth position as they continue to surprise many and they will want a win to stabilise their top half position. The hosts will be without Mamady Sidibe (hamstring), Salif Diao (calf) and Amdy Faye (back) for the game. Portsmouth, who have won two of their last five league games after losing their first seven outings, have given themselves hope and are currently just three points behind Wolves at the foot of the table. John Utaka and Steve Finnan (both groin) could be ruled out while Linvoy Primus and Hermann Hreidarsson (both ankle) will miss the big clash. Aruna Dindane, who smashed home a hat-trick in the 4-0 win against Wigan Athletic almost a fortnight ago, will be hoping he can take this fine form into the weekend as he and his colleagues look to get their heads above water for the first time this season. The two met in February in last season's Premier League campaign and they played out an absorbing 2-2 draw. A pulsating contest saw Croatia international Niko Kranjcar open the scoring just 15 minutes from time after neat work with Peter Crouch enabled a goal scoring opportunity. James Beattie quickly replied from the penalty spot and before anybody could catch their breath, the frontman nodded home in the 80th minute. With the Potters sensing a welcome three points, defender Ryan Shawcross cruelly put past his own goalkeeper for Pompey to claim a share of the spoils. The neutral fans would be quite happy to witness such a finish this time around, but the south coast faithful will be striving for their men to grab another victory as they claw ever closer to the other relegation candidates above them.
Source: DSG
