Manchester City v Stoke City (Preview)
Roberto Mancini expects to have skipper Kolo Toure available for Manchester City's FA Cup fifth round tie against Stoke.
Toure limped out of Tuesday's win over Bolton with a knee injury but has now recovered and is expected to partner £22million summer arrival Joleon Lescott in central defence because Vincent Kompany (groin) is out.
Craig Bellamy (knee) is also sidelined, while new signing Adam Johnson is cup-tied, having played against City for Middlesbrough earlier in the competition.
City swooped to land Johnson in an £8million deal with Middlesbrough on deadline day and already the 22-year-old has made a massive impression at Eastlands.
The England Under-21 star followed up his eye-catching debut at Hull by collecting man-of-the-match honours in the midweek win over Bolton.
"Johnson is a great player,'' Mancini said.
"If he continues like he is at the moment he could get into the national team.
"I remember Ryan Giggs when he was young and the way he moved. Johnson is the same player.
"If he keeps working hard he has a good chance for the future.''
"Maybe the FA Cup is more important to me than it is for Arsene Wenger.''
Given how close City got to reaching the Carling Cup final before they eventually succumbed to neighbours Manchester United, there is almost a desperation about the Blue camp to reach a Wembley showpiece for the first time since 1981.
And, although he qualified his comment, the City boss is more keen to beat Stoke this weekend than when the pair do battle again with points at stake.
"The FA Cup match against them is the most important one because it is the next one,'' stated Mancini.
"We want to get to Wembley and to achieve this we need to win, but it would also help put us in a good mood for next week.''
City are aiming to reach the last eight for the third time in recent years and will start heavy favourites to overcome a Stoke outfit they defeated easily as recently as Boxing Day in what was Mancini's first game in charge.
However, the Italian's knowledge extends beyond the result to the searching examination Stoke provided before Petrov opened the scoring.
"I remember the game,'' he said.
"It started off being very difficult and Shay Given made a good save after about 10 minutes, otherwise the result might have been different.''
Stoke manager Tony Pulis has a few late decisions to make regarding the fitness of a number of players.
Captain Abdoulaye Faye has missed the last two matches with a back problem but may be ready to return.
Pulis said one or two other unnamed players had minor knocks which would all need to be assessed prior to the evening kick-off at Eastlands.
Ricardo Fuller, a second-half substitute in the 1-1 midweek Barclays Premier League draw at Wigan after being arrested over allegations of a nightclub assault, could return to the starting line-up at the expense of Tuncay Sanli.
Pulis will tell his players they cannot afford to be intimidated by Manchester City and must take the game to their opponents.
The Potters boss believes some of his squad still have something of an inferiority complex when it comes to tackling the bigger teams of the Barclays Premier League.
But in a cup competition all that matters is winning and Pulis intends to attack Roberto Mancini's side from the off.
"I am looking to pick a positive team and go there to have a right go,'' he said.
"It is very important we go there and be positive and the team I pick is not overawed by the occasion or the players they are playing against.
"I think we have gone to one or two grounds and been a little bit in awe still this year.
"But our away performances have been a lot better than last year and the only way to break the taboo is by winning.
"I'm sure the last thing Roberto Mancini wants - and we all want - is a draw so it's 'gloves off' because I think both sides will want a result one way or the other.''
Despite having beaten Arsenal in the last round Pulis said his side are still second favourites against City.
He feels Mancini's players will be under some pressure to win a trophy this season, having already missed out on the Carling Cup final, because of the huge financial investment made by their Abu Dhabi-based owners.
"It's going to be very difficult for us in a game against one of the richest clubs in the world,'' he said.
"But Manchester City have spent an absolute fortune on players and they will be expecting a return for that investment.
"They've got two chances to do that by winning the cup or qualifying for the Champions League so there is that pressure on them, whereas we're the underdogs and we're looking forward to it.''
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