Premier League: Fulham v Stoke City preview

A look ahead to this weekend’s Premier League fixture at Craven Cottage

Fulham's Dimitar Berbatov failed to hit the net (Getty Images)

Both sides come into this meeting with just one win in their last five matches, languishing in mid-table and with not much other than pride to play for this season.

Fulham, five points above the relegation zone, will want to pull away from the teams down at the bottom after what has been an inconsistent season.

Manager Martin Jol will be relying on talisman Dimitar Berbatov to inspire his team and loan signing Emmanuel Frimpong will be hoping for his second start for the Cottagers.

Stoke City have just one win from their last 22 Premier League matches away from the Britannia but should be able to welcome back defender Marc Wilson, who has been out of the side since breaking his leg last October.

Tony Pulis has spent the week visiting teams in Europe in the hope of picking up some new coaching methods while his players rested since their last game was three weeks ago.

Kick-Off:Saturday 12:45

Past three meetings…

November 2012: Premier League - Stoke City 1 (Adam) – 0 Fulham

February 2012: Premier League – Fulham 2 (Sorenson OG, Pogrebnyak) – 1 Stoke City (Shawcross)

October 2011: Premier League – Stoke City 2 (Walters, Delap) – 0 Fulham

Stats…

In the last nine games where Fulham have gone in at half time level, they have won only once and lost five, which is the worst record in the division.

At 39 seconds, Ryan Shawcross is second behind Reading's Jobi McAnuff for the quickest person to receive a booking.

The last four matches between Fulham and Stoke have all ended in home wins.

Stoke City have conceded the lowest amount (five) of goals in the opening 30 minutes of league matches than any other team.

Odds…

Fulham to win - 2.22

Stoke City to win - 3.8

Draw - 3.4

TV: Sky Sports 2 HD