Begovic: Walters will recover from Chelsea woes
Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has tipped his team-mate Jon Walters to swiftly move on from his nightmare outing against Chelsea by scoring in the FA Cup clash with Crystal Palace.
Walters had a truly miserable time of it when the Blues visited the Britannia Stadium for Saturday's Barclays Premier League match, heading in two own goals and missing a penalty as the Potters were beaten 4-0.
Begovic has no doubt the forward is strong enough to bounce back from that and would not be surprised to see Walters make an immediate return to form by getting on the scoresheet against Palace, who Stoke are hosting for a third-round replay after drawing 0-0 with them in the original tie on January 5.
"I don't think anybody will worry about Jon Walters," Begovic said.
"His character and personality won't be affected by anything that happens to him.
"It was a couple of unfortunate incidents for him. I take the blame for the second goal because I probably should have come for the ball, but seeing him there I decided not to.
"He is a big enough character to bounce back and I am sure he will probably score a goal on Tuesday."
The Chelsea defeat was 10th-placed Stoke's first at home in the league since February and the heaviest they have ever suffered on their own turf in a Premier League fixture.
It also means they have conceded seven goals in their last two games at the Britannia Stadium, having drawn 3-3 with Southampton on December 29.
Prior to that result, they had let in only four in their nine home top-flight matches for the season, and Begovic - who is likely to be rested - is optimistic the Potters can get things back on track in front of their own supporters in the contest with npower Championship outfit Palace.
"You always want to put things right and hopefully we can do that on Tuesday," Begovic said.
"Crystal Palace will come here with nothing to lose.
"We appreciate the support from the crowd. We feed off it and it is important to have it.
"No matter what the result, they are always there cheering us on and we appreciate that.
"Hopefully we can put things right for them as well on Tuesday."
Pulis is set to make a number of adjustments to his first XI for the match.
Goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, a regular for the Potters in cup competition, looks set to come in for Begovic once again, while striker Michael Owen will be hoping to be back involved after starting the initial meeting with Palace but then missing out on a place in the squad for the Chelsea game.
Defender Marc Wilson and midfielder Rory Delap, who have been sidelined by a broken leg and calf problem respectively, remain unavailable.
Meanwhile, Mile Jedinak admits Crystal Palace look up to their FA Cup opponents in more ways than one.
Palace are challenging for promotion to the Barclays Premier League, where Stoke have become an established side since they went up in 2008.
And Eagles skipper Jedinak is ready for another battle with Tony Pulis' team of six-footers in the replay as they attempt to secure a fourth-round tie with Manchester City.
"We know they are direct in some sense, they have some really tall lads and great quality players," he said.
"You want to test yourself against good players. They are where we want to be, they've been there a number of years and they are a solid Premier League team.
"They have earned their respect, and we showed them that. They are where they are for a reason but it's good to mix it with them."
Palace could do without the distraction of a replay with promotion their priority this season.
Manager Ian Holloway admitted as much after the first match, claiming he had simply wanted either to win or lose.
And Jedinak said: "Would we like an extra game? Probably not, but we've got it and we've just got to deal with it.
"It's not frustrating. We are professional athletes so we just have to get on with it, whether the manager decides to go with you or not, we are all in it as a group and it's got to be done."
Holloway is likely to make changes to his team with one eye on Saturday's Championship visit of Bolton.
Kagisho Dikgacoi is on international duty with South Africa, while fellow midfielder Owen Garvan has a knee injury.
Wilfried Zaha is expected to play amid continued speculation he is heading for the Premier League this month with Manchester United and Arsenal reportedly lining up bids.
Source: PA
