10am ET, live in the US on Fox Soccer Plus
Last four head-to-head:
2-1 Liverpool (a; Carling Cup) 10.26.11
0-1 Stoke (a) 09.10.11
2-0 Liverpool (h) 02.02.11
0-2 Stoke (a) 11.13.10
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 City (a); 5-1 Oldham (h); 0-3 City (a)
Stoke: 3-1 Gillingham (a); 2-1 Blackburn (a); 2-2 Wigan (h)
Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Suarez 5; Bellamy 4; Adam, Carroll, Gerrard, Maxi, Skrtel 2; Henderson, Johnson 1
Stoke: Crouch 6; Walters 5; Delap, Ethrington 2; Huth, Jerome, Jones, Shawcross, Shotton, Whelan 1
Referee: Howard Webb
Strangely enough, this will be the first time Liverpool have had Webb this season.

2:45pm ET, live in the US on FoxSoccer.tv. Most of us will have to make do with streams.
Last four head-to-head:
0-1 Stoke (a) 09.10.11
2-0 Liverpool (h) 02.02.11
0-2 Stoke (a) 11.13.10
1-1 (a) 01.16.10
Previous round(s):
Liverpool: 2-1 Brighton (a); 3-1 Exeter (a)
Stoke: 0-0 Spurs [7-6 pens] (h)
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-1 Norwich (h); 1-1 United (h); 2-0 Everton (a)
Stoke: 1-3 Arsenal (a); 3-0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (h); 2-0 Fulham (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Suarez 5; Bellamy, Carroll 2; Adam, Gerrard, Henderson, Kuyt, Maxi, Skrtel 1
Stoke: Jones, Walters 4; Crouch, Shotton 3; Jerome 2; Delap, Pugh, Upson, Whelan 1
Referee: Peter Walton
You may remember Mr.

Written by oz gunner

How they lined up:

Arsenal (4-4-3)- Szczesny, Djourou, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Song ©, Arteta, Ramsey, Walcott, Gervinho, Chamakh.

Subs: Fabianski, Frimpong, Rosicky, Benayoun, Arshavin, Park, van Persie.

The arrival of the beetle-headed dung-munching orcs from Stoke will be the first real test of our newly found confidence. Can Arsenal overcome these mutants and gain 3 points without a slew of injuries? Furthermore, can Arsenal get through 90+ minutes of battle with 11 players on the field another red card for the good guys would not be a huge surprise.

Foul-Smelling Orcs
Form: 8th, 3 W, 3 D, 2L, 6 GF, 8 GA, -2 GD, 12 pts.
Away Form: 1 W, 1D, 2L, 2 GF, 7 GA, 5 pts.
Last Meeting: Stoke 3-1 Arsenal (May 8, 2011)

Stoke. Pleasant fellows, eh? The Potters have the distinction of gaining a pretty venomous rivalry with Arsenal in the space of a few years.

Stoke City came from behind to defeat Besiktas 2-1 thanks to Jon Walters' penalty in Thursday's Europa League clash at the Britannia Stadium.
Besiktas scored first but one minte later Stoke tied the match...
Besiktas went ahead in the 14th minute when Roberto Hilbert scored on to Ricardo Quaresma's pass, but their lead lasted only a couple minutes, goalkeeper Rustu Recber unable to claim Dean Whitehead's corner and Peter Crouch scored the goal for Stoke City.

Squad sheets: Stoke City v Liverpool

There is a buoyancy to both of these teams given their undefeated starts to the season, and with the respective managers having also acquired a host of fresh recruits prior to the close of the transfer window it feels likely this fixture will be characterised by a sense of adventure and renewed excitement.

Arsene Wenger was recently in Switzerland with a host of other top European managers to discuss the future of the game. Other attendees at the UEFA conference included Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola and Andre Villas-Boas. A ccording to the Metro Ajax coach Frank De Boer revealed a controversial proposal put forward by the Arsenal [.

Lineups are in:

Stoke City Starters: Begovic, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Pennant, Whelan, Whitehead, Delap, Walters, Jones Bench: Sorensen, Collins, Pugh, Diao, Carew, Faye, Shotton

Arsenal: Starters: Wojo, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Gibbs, Song, Wilshere, Rambo, Theo, Arshavin, van Persie Bench: Lehmann, Vermaelen, Rosicky, Squillaci, Eboue, Chamakh, Bendtner

No real surprises there for us with injuries, the lineup card largely filled out itself.

Stoke City are sitting pretty in tenth place in the EPL this season only three points off the dizzy heights of seventh place. Not many like to watch Tony Pulis' side, and fans of other Premier League teams see them as a blot on the landscape because of their style of play. But Stoke are suffering from the same label as was bestowed on Sam Allardyce's Bolton side.

Funny old game football. A week ago we were facing sublime skill, at the weekend passion and unlikely hope, and tonight aggression and anti-football. It is a testament to the Beautiful game that all types of football can be encompassed inside 7 days.

We know what to expect from this Stoke team under the tutelage of Mr Pulis, it will be park the bus, long throw ins and long, long balls to test the aerial expertise of our defence.

3pm ET, live in the US on FSC
Last four head-to-head:
0-2 Stoke (a) 11.13.10
1-1 (a) 01.16.10
4-0 Liverpool (h) 08.19.09

0-0 (a) 01.10.09
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 Fulham (h); 3-0 Wolves (a); 2-2 Everton (h)
Stoke: 1-0 Wolves (a); 0-2 Fulham (a); 2-0 Cardiff (a)
Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Gerrard, Kuyt 4; Maxi 3; Kyrgiakos, Meireles, Ngog 2; Cole, Johnson, Skrtel 1
Stoke: Jones 5; Etherington, Huth 4; Fuller, Walters 3; Whitehead 2; Delap, Faye, Higginbotham, Wilson 1
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Kelly Carragher Agger Johnson
Gerrard Lucas
Kuyt Meireles Maxi
Ngog
Don't expect immediate gratification from Liverpool's new £58m strike force.

More photos » Kevork Djansezian - Getty Images

Getty thinks this player's name is "Diskerud Mixx". Nice work.

Browse more photos »

I was fortunate enough to have access to ESPN3, so I could watch the US C-team take on the Chilean B-team while listening to the dulcet tones of John Harkes rather than hearing it in a language I barely understand on Telefutura.