Fulham welcome Stoke City to Craven Cottage this Saturday (KO 3pm)| with the visitors currently enjoying a season which is somewhat reminiscent of our campaign two years ago.
Mid-placed in the league, the Potters find themselves still in both the FA Cup and the Europa League, with ties against Crawley Town and Valencia to look forward to later this month. Rewind two years and the Whites had games with Notts County and Shakhtar Donetsk on the horizon.
The Potters have seen off lower league opposition in the forms of Gillingham and Derby County in the FA Cup and have certainly impressed in Europe too. They managed 11 points from their Europa League group which saw them finish just behind Besiktas to set-up a glamorous tie with the Spanish giants.
Competing on three fronts has coincided with a dip in Stoke’s league form though, with the club currently on a barren run of only one win in eight matches.
Their last defeat came at the hands of a rejuvenated Sunderland side, with the talking point of the match coming when Robert Huth was sent off in the first half for a dangerous challenge. Tony Pulis appealed against the decision but this was swiftly rejected which means Huth will miss Saturday’s game, in addition to Stoke’s next two domestic fixtures.
Ties between Fulham and Stoke have been incredibly difficult to predict since the Staffordshire club were promoted to the Premier League. Each team has triumphed on three occasions, with the only draw occurring at the Britannia back in 2008.
The corresponding fixture last season saw the Whites run out comfortable winners with Clint Dempsey notching himself a brace in a 2-0 victory; the second goal coming from the penalty spot following an incident which saw Stoke Captain Ryan Shawcross dismissed.
More disappointing was the result at the Britannia earlier this season as Fulham were defeated by the same score line. The home side left it late but made the breakthrough with ten minutes remaining when they quickly countered following a John Arne Riise free-kick which had smacked against the woodwork; Jonathan Walters turning in a miscued shot before Rory Delap made sure of the points on 87 minutes.
Stoke’s Premier League record at Craven Cottage
22.01.2011 Fulham 2:0 Stoke
05.05.2010 Fulham 0:1 Stoke
25.04.2009 Fulham 1:0 Stoke
Player statistics
Most goals
Fulham: Clint Dempsey (10)
Stoke: Peter Crouch (6)
Most assists
Fulham: Clint Dempsey/Danny Murphy (4)
Stoke: Jonathan Walters/Matthew Etherington (5)
Avg. shots per game
Fulham: Clint Dempsey (4)
Stoke: Jonathan Walters/Peter Crouch (1.8)
Avg. passes per game
Fulham: Danny Murphy (66)
Stoke: Glenn Whelan (41.3)
Pass success rate
Fulham: Dickson Etuhu (86.2)
Stoke: Dean Whitehead (81.4)
Average aerial battles won per game
Fulham: Brede Hangeland (2.8)
Stoke: Peter Crouch (4.4)
Tackles per game
Fulham: Mousa Dembele (3)
Stoke: Andy Wilkinson (2.6)
Interceptions per game
Fulham: Chris Baird (3)
Stoke: Robert Huth (2.1)
Average per match statistics
Fulham/Stoke
1 Goals 1
15 Shots 10
2 Yellow cards 2
5 Corners 5
10 Fouls 12
2 Offsides 1
19 Throw-ins 25
52% Aerial duel success 58%
50% Ball possession 40%
81% Pass success 69%