Since they were first promoted to the Premier League in 2008, Stoke City have hardly been the most popular side to grace the English top flight.

It seems wrong to want an underdog side like Stoke to fail at nearly every given occasion, but because of the Rugby-like antics inspired by Tony Pulis, hate for the Potters has become the exception to the rule.

Now, under the management of Mark Hughes, Stoke City are looking to rebrand themselves in a more favourable light within the football community. Whilst the days of seemingly employing Rory Delap exclusively for his long throw-in abilities are on the decline, the question remains: have Stoke City really changed that much under Hughes?

As a player, Mark Hughes was known for his tough tackling and no nonsense attitude. In that respect he would seem the perfect man to pick up from where Tony Pulis left off at Stoke. His Premier League record produced teams that didn’t exactly set the world alight or show much creativity in the attacking areas. Blackburn, Fulham, QPR and even Hughes’ Manchester City side were hardly expansive in their approach and didn’t put too heavy and emphasis on possession.

Fast-forward to 2014, and a whole host of TV and radio pundits seem to be purring over Hughes’ so-called transformation of Stoke and the way they approach their matches. The fact that the Potters are still very much a physical side is scarcely noted.

Hughes may have the likes of Bojan and Marko Arnautovic at his disposal, but the latter hardly gets a place in Sparky’s starting XI, and the former only really stands out because of the company he is in. Yes, Bojan is a technically gifted player for sure, but most sides in the Premier League have at least one player in the ‘Bojan mould’.

Stoke are still not a pretty sight with the ball at their feet and often revert to just lumping it forward. On several occasions this season, Hughes has deployed both Geoff Cameron and Erik Pieters at full-back, who aren’t exactly Roberto Carlos-esque in their style of play, whilst the 6’4 Steven N’Zonzi has been holding the defensive-mid position. Admittedly some of these moves have been made out of necessity rather than choice, but these types of players simply do no favours for Stoke’s image problems.

The story in attack has also not changed dramatically under Mark Hughes this season. For all the sensation that currently surrounds Bojan at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke’s main line of attack still largely involves pumping long balls up to Peter Crouch, with the ever-persistent Jonathan Walters ready to latch onto any knock-down that comes his way. Whilst this system may be effective, it is definitely not pretty.

In comparison with another so-called long-ball side, West Ham United have dramatically changed under Sam Allardyce this campaign. Big Sam used to rely solely on the Carroll-Nolan axis last season, but with the additions of Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Mauro Zarate and Alex Song to the Hammers’ squad, West Ham have managed to completely revitalise their style of play. Allardyce now sees his team reside in fourth place in the Premier League, whilst Stoke City remain very much a mid-table side.

It would be unfair to completely disregard Mark Hughes’ spell at Stoke however, as with more goals scored this season than in previous years, there are at least some signs that a better footballing philosophy is trying to be reached at the Britannia Stadium.

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But as the Potters still clearly favour physical players with a direct approach, claims that Stoke City are starting to emulate the tiki-taka possession play of Barcelona remain very wide of the mark.

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Louis Van Gaal recently stated that Victor Valdes signed for Manchester United to be their number one goalkeeper. However, with David De Gea ahead of the former Barcelona keeper, it looks very unlikely that Valdes will become United’s number one with De Gea still at the Premier League club.

Valdes has enjoyed a glittering career so far, rising from the youth ranks at Barcelona to be a first-teamer for 12 years before finally ending his association with the club last summer. With 20 international appearances for Spain, there is no doubting the talent of the former Barcelona goalkeeper. However, if he wants to dislodge the incredibly impressive David De Gea in the near future, he’s going to need a bit of luck on his side.

United’s 24-year-old number one has proved he really was worth the £18million transfer fee that saw him arrive from Atletico Madrid in 2011. After a number of fine performances this season, most notably against Everton and Liverpool, De Gea has often won games on his own. In a way, the leaky defence at Old Trafford this year has exposed David De Gea, and he has proved exactly what he is capable of.

Louis Van Gaal has made a good signing in the form of Victor Valdes but it will be interesting to see how long the goalkeeper will be able to cope with watching games from the dugout. De Gea’s form shows no sign of slowing down and it is rumoured that the young Spaniard will be offered a bumper contract to keep him at the club amidst interest from Real Madrid, as reported in the Metro.

If De Gea does leave for Real, United already have an experienced goalkeeper to replace him. Although that may be the case, Louis Van Gaal will still be desperate to keep hold of one of his star performers this season.

It is expected that Victor Valdes will get his chance in the FA Cup as it is not Manchester United’s priority this season. However, Van Gaal will likely choose to stick with De Gea for the Premier League fixtures, limiting Valdes’ opportunities.

Although on-field minutes may be few and far between for Valdes, there is still hope for the ex-Barcelona man. Top Premier League clubs increasingly now have two quality goalkeepers in their sides.

For example, Petr Cech was given a start against Newcastle United despite the fact that Thibaut Courtois was 100% match fit. It’s a similar story in the blue half of Manchester, where Pellegrini likes to rotate both Joe Hart and Willy Caballero in order to maintain healthy competition. Arsene Wenger has also adopted the same approach, with David Ospina replacing the faltering Wojciech Szczesny for Arsenal’s home game against Stoke City at the weekend.

Valdes has been brought in to provide some competition for the number one spot at Old Trafford. It’s an excellent move by the manager as competition for places will get the best out of De Gea.

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If United qualify for the Champions League next season, it is always important to have a quality goalkeeper in reserve and Valdes provides that. He may not want to be the number two at Manchester United, but Van Gaal has made a shrewd signing in bringing the free agent to Old Trafford, adding further strength in depth to a squad that is starting to take some shape.

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In what looks set to be the biggest talking point of the weekend in the Premier League, relegation battlers Burnley recorded an almighty upset in the form of a 1-0 win over reigning champions Manchester City.

Although the Citizens have the best record of any club against bottom half sides in the division this term, such disappointing displays against lesser opposition have become worryingly regular for the Etihad outfit.

Facing an ageing squad with an often complacent mentality, we at Football Fancast think Man City need a serious shake-up this summer via the transfer market – although manager Manuel Pellegrini is now almost certain to be booted out the exit door too.

And with that in mind, here’s three reasons the Sky Blues desperately need a summer shake-up, as evident throughout the ninety minutes this afternoon.

A DIVINE RIGHT MENTALITY

It’s been said of Manchester City before and certainly rung true this afternoon, they often enter fixtures against lesser sides with the dangerous assumption that they’re going to win – a divine right to victory, if you will.

Nobody can doubt the SkyBlues’ quality, but quality alone is not enough in the Premier League and once again, it was as if the visitors expected that to be all they needed to see them surpass a well-organised, highly motivated Burnley side.

The City board were quick to oust Roberto Mancini after the club’s complacent title defence in 2012/13, but a behavioural trend that’s now seeped into Manuel Pellegrini’s reign too, one can only point to the mentality in the dressing room.

Although few dispute City to be the most talented team in the English top flight, they continually lack the work-rate, desire and teamwork to match.

AN AGEING SQUAD

Age is just a number, but it should be a troubling one for Manchester City. They currently boast the oldest squad age in the Premier League, 29.6 years, and the average age of all their players involved today was a worrying 29.

Not only does that reflect on City’s inability to bring academy players through to the first team in recent years, but it also highlights the club’s desperate need for fresh blood. The daunting alternative is the entirety of the squad surpassing their peaks and needing replacing at the same time, which would undoubtedly require a Financial Fair Play-bending sum of money.

THEY NEED A FEW MORE GEORGE BOYDS

George Boyd may not be the most glamorous player in the history of the Premier League – in fact, only last summer was he deemed not glamorous enough for Hull City.

But what’s not to like about this lad? He’s home-grown, has good technique and an absolutely impeccable work-rate, a combination of which made him the match-winner this afternoon.

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The 29 year-old not only scored the deciding strike in the 1-0 affair, but he also made the most tackles of any Burnley player, as shown below:

In fact, he ranks in fifth – yes, fifth – in the Premier League’s tackle rankings and is the only forward in the top ten. Not bad for a January bargain.

If City had a few more players of Boyd’s mentality in their midfield, prepared to work for their moments of glory, perhaps banana-skin results of today’s magnitude would be a lesser occurrence.

Will it be Jurgen Klopp? Pep Guardiola? Patrick Vieira? Rafael Benitez?

The names linked with the Manchester City manager’s job are many and varied.

The formula for predicting who the next manager will be seems quite simply to be picking names of current managers out of a hat.

Maybe Diego Simeone? Alejandro Sabella?

Roy Hodgson? Sir Alex Ferguson? SIR MATT BUSBY?? Well, you can see how it could all get a bit ridiculous.

Manchester City are like the belle of the ball. Everyone wants to pair her off with some good-looking eligible bachelor, and most if not all of the potential suitors would be tempted by her considerable assets. Ahem, financial assets that is.

But the problem is, this belle already has a beau.

The matchmakers are circling like vultures, so you’d think that there was a job opening. There isn’t.

At least for now, Manuel Pellegrini is Manchester City’s manager. And will they really get rid of him?

Last season – his first in English football – he managed to win the League and League Cup double. A simple, modest title challenge and the League Cup would probably have sufficed. Pundits would have said, ‘good job, not a bad debut season’. But would have expected a title return in his second year. In reality, Pellegrini has sort of reversed the order.

But is a trophyless season this time, after a double last season, really enough to warrant the sack?

The problem that Pellegrini has is that his team is almost too strong. He has a world class player in every position, right from front to back. He simply can’t justify resting players like Aguero, Silva, Kompany, Toure.

As a result, City have found it almost impossible to strengthen their team.

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They’ve been able to strengthen their bench, add depth to the squad. Mangala has essentially been a hideously expensive third choice defender this season – though I still expect him to be a wonderful defender in the seasons to come. Fernando has added depth to the central midfield roster, but hasn’t been able to oust Toure and Fernandinho as first choice in Pellegrini’s dynamic duo of midfielders in his rigid, unflinching 4-4-2.

At the start of last season, Alvaro Negredo, Fernandinho and Martin Demichelis came into the team. And although Negredo is gone now, he chipped in with goals, Fernandinho and Demichelis have been full-on starters ever since they joined.

So the summer before last, City strengthened well, last summer they didn’t. They still didn’t improve dramatically on what they had, but it was enough to add spice to a stale squad.

That’s been Pellegrini’s problem – how do you add to a title winning squad? There’s nothing you can add to make it better. But when you don’t add anything, your players are tired. And tired players make for stale teams.

City’s men are so good that they can’t be dropped, and that means playing for two full years at the top level. Two title chases – last season they had to come from behind, and this year they just couldn’t muster up the strength once again – and most played in the World Cup finals in Brazil too. That’s almost two full years without a break. At the highest level. And with few rests in the season.

It’s no wonder the squad is stale.

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And that might be Pellegrini’s fault for his failure to strengthen effectively. But then again, how do you strengthen on what City already had? And how do you do it within Financial Fair Play regulations? You’d need to bring in quality equal to the likes of Toure and Kompany so that those two could get a rest. If not, then you have to be prepared for a below par season.

Given money for next season Pellegrini can build a squad capable of doing much better next time around. But he’ll have to recoup lots of money with sales too. FFP will stifle a dramatic overhaul, so these jaded players may not get the rest they need.

And so that’s the reason why the matchmakers are suggesting suitors name after name. The belle of the ball won’t be stuck for a date, but what’s wrong with holding onto her Latin Lover, the hunky Manuel? After all, can a new man really provide any more than her old one?

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When one of the biggest teams in the world goes through a rough patch, it’s easy to turn to their best goal scorer as the issue at hand.

After their winter break, Real Madrid struggled to find their form. Losing to city rivals Atletico Madrid in the league and the Copa brought criticism from Real’s mans and Cristiano Ronaldo not scoring in three consecutive games made people question his form.

But the world’s current best put a staggering five past Granada, and scored again just three days later away to Rayo Vallecano. So, has Ronaldo got his confidence back?

Because of the type of player Ronaldo is, so much is expected of him. Three games without a goal is considered a drought, which shows his talent. He now has 300 goals to his name for Real Madrid: bear in mind he has only been there for five years. He has scored these goals in just just 288 games.

In mid January, Cristiano found the back of the net twice against Getafe, yet was uncharacteristically sent off in Real’s next game against Cordoba. Just over a month prior to that, he topped the table for most hat-tricks scored in La Liga. This record has been broken once again, but by a young fella you may have heard of – Lionel Messi.

After the sending off, Real Madrid faced Atletico Madrid but couldn’t match their rivals as Atleti ran out comfortable 4-0 winners. Real returned to winning ways against Deportivo, but it would not be until a Champions League game against Schalke for Cristiano to find the back of the net again.

Going by some of his reactions on the pitch, he does strive to be the main man at Real Madrid. His frustration at others scoring instead of himself, such as Bale’s goal against Levante from Ronaldo’s rebound, was widely criticised.

He would go on to score in his next three games, but it is the five at Granada that has people talking. This seems to be his turning point for the dying stages of this season. It has been a boost for not only the club, but for Ronaldo himself.

But let’s be honest, Cristiano’s drop in form is something most forwards could only dream of. Ronaldo defines prolific. He is breaking records left, right and centre at Real Madrid. He has the best goal ratio in La Liga, has scored on every day of the week, and scored in every minute of a game.

He may be back to his blistering best, but his worst is still better than most. There is clearly a lot of pressure on Cristiano to churn out goals consistently, and for the most part, he lives up to expectation.

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But a slight dip in form simply shows he is only human after all.

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Manchester United’s interest in Hoffenheim ace Roberto Firmino is genuine according to respected BBC reporter John Bennett, who says that he “wouldn’t be at all surprised†if the attacking midfielder ends up at Old Trafford.

Reports yesterday suggested that a deal between the Red Devils and the Bundesliga side had been agreed, with a £13.1m fee in place to lure the Brazilian across to England, pending a successful medical.

Although the Red Devils have secured the services of Memphis Depay, who’s move was made official just a few hours ago, Firmino is thought to be a target, and Bennett took to Twitter to reveal that there is serious interest from United:

WANT MORE? >>ÂMan United transfer newsÂ|ÂLatest transfer news

He wrote: “I know Louis van Gaal enquired about Brazil’s Roberto Firmino back in April. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if he ends up and Manchester United.â€

Bennett then went on to state that a host of other clubs are chasing the 23-year-old, and that the Copa America, which he’s featuring in for his home nation, could slow down negotiations:

“On Roberto Firmino: several very big clubs have expressed concrete interest. Copa America slows down any deal. Player has a decision to make.â€

Firmino has been Hoffenheim’s star turn over the course of the past two league seasons, notching 23 goals and 21 assists since the start of the 2013/14 campaign.

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West Ham’s turnaround has been phenomenal over the last few weeks.

The David Moyes revolution took a few weeks to kick in, but despite having to face Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in successive weeks, it seems to be well and truly here.

That unforgiving run of three tough fixtures saw the Hammers pick up four points, and although it wasn’t enough to actually bring them out of the relegation zone, it was enough to create belief within the side.

There was always a big question still remaining, however: although Moyes had managed to get his defensive players playing in an organised and solid fashion, could he do it in a game where his side would have less motivation, against a smaller team where that on-edge defensive performance wasn’t going to be necessary?

And although Mark Hughes’ Stoke City are hardly one of the league’s best sides right now, they answered that question as emphatically as they could.

Although Marko Arnautovic will get the plaudits for an effective, yet antagonistic performance, Manuel Lanzini’s effectiveness shouldn’t be overlooked.

When playing those teams in the top six, when defensive solidity and pace on the counter-attack are of paramount importance, against a side like Stoke, it’s the creativity of a Lanzini type figure which comes to the fore. And he didn’t disappoint.

His 80 touches from the number 10 position was more than any other player on the pitch apart from Stoke’s Joe Allen, who equalled the Argentine’s tally. But it’s what Lanzini did with it that counted.

His two assists are the most obvious contributions, but his accumulation of five dribbles and four key passes was unrivalled by any other player on the pitch, and he still managed to keep his pass accuracy to an impressive 90%, despite clearly looking to be direct, make things happen, and set his teammates away.

It was a complete performance from a player who will be relied upon to be the creative spark in a side who are still attempting to shore up a leaky defence.

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When Moyes arrived, one of the criticisms was whether or not he’d be able to fashion a functional attack given his expertise seemed to be defensive organisation rather than the other end of the pitch.

In Lanzini – not to mention getting the best out of Arnautovic – he’ll have a player able to do that creative role in the games the Hammers are expected to win, not just the ones where they can perform above expectations. And that will be hugely important for the rest of the season.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, on loan Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday is expected to return to the Light Blues’ squad this week ahead of their winter training camp excursion to Florida.

Halliday has spent the first half of the season on loan at Azerbaijan club Gabala after former manager Pedro Caixinha deemed him surplus to requirements, but it appears Graeme Murty is looking to include him going forward.

The midfielder didn’t have the best of 2016/17 seasons and was criticised for his performances under both Mark Warburton and latterly Caixinha.

Supporters don’t seem particularly enthused by his return with some feeling it’s a step backwards, that he won’t improve on who is already at the club and that they need better if they’re to compete with reigning champions Celtic.

Can the boyhood Rangers fan prove people wrong, or will he continue to struggle to improve the Ibrox side’s midfield fortunes?

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Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

According to reports in The Sun, Manchester United could be set to follow up a move to sign Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez by agreeing an exciting new five-year contract worth £250,000-a-week for manager Jose Mourinho.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Sun says that the Portuguese boss is close to extending his stay at Old Trafford with the club said to be hopeful of announcing the deal in the next 10 days.

Mourinho initially only signed a three-year contract when he replaced Louis van Gaal in 2016 and has never managed longer than that period at any of his previous clubs, but he could be set to achieve a first with the Red Devils.

The Sun says that both parties are happy with each other and the progress that they are making, with the former Chelsea chief determined to win the Premier League title and the hierarchy pleased that he has got the spirit back that had been lost under Van Gaal previously.

How has Mourinho done this season?

Having finished in sixth position in the Premier League last term the Red Devils are much improved this time around, and had it not been for Manchester City’s outstanding campaign they would be right in contention to win the title.

As things stand they are 12 points behind their arch-rivals and while Mourinho won’t have given up hope just yet, it would take a major slip from City to allow their local neighbours to snatch the trophy.

United have also qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League and progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup, and the Old Trafford hierarchy will hope for at least one trophy by the end of the season after the Portuguese boss delivered two last term.

Will he stay for many years to come?

As we mentioned previously, Mourinho has never lasted more than three seasons at any club and much could depend on their success next term as to whether he will stay for the long-term.

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However, the fact that he is happy with United and the fact that he already seems to have the fans on his side is certainly a good sign, and bodes well for an exciting future.

Sunday afternoon’s big game sees Liverpool host league leaders Manchester City in a top six clash to get the mouth watering.

Despite the fact that Pep Guardiola’s league leaders are no longer really rivals for any of the rest of the top six – due to being so far ahead they’re almost irrelevant to the battle raging beneath them – this is still a clash with some excitement attached.

This is a battle between the two top scoring teams in the Premier League, and a game which puts together the two most exciting attacks in the division, to boot. It is a game where you’d love attacks to be on top and defences to be found out. Indeed, the last fixture between these two produced five goals.

And yet, that’s where the extra excitement comes in: of those five goals, all scored by City, four came after the sending-off of Sadio Mane, a dismissal which may well have changed the game. Liverpool weren’t on top when their Senegalese attacker was shown red.

They were 1-0 down at the time, and City’s attack was, as we now know, on the form of its life. But there were signs that Liverpool’s own front line was going to cause problems for Guardiola’s defence, who looked like they might have had a soft underbelly if pushed a little more.

This game might be different, however. City’s defence is the best in the league, and so is their attack. They have a goal difference of +51, double that of Liverpool. And their partnership of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi will likely be back in full swing.

That means if Liverpool are to become the first team in the Premier League to beat City this season, they’ll have to be able to take their chances on the break, and especially since Jurgen Klopp’s attack will be missing Philippe Coutinho.

Big performance

On the other hand, as good as Liverpool’s attack can be, the focus really has to be on the other end of the pitch. City are comfortably the best team in the division, if not in Europe as a whole, but if Klopp’s side can stop them from scoring – or perhaps just scoring more than once – they may be able to achieve a result.

The addition of Virgil van Dijk will surely help. And although there’s always a bedding-in period for a new signing, and indeed to create a partnership with his defensive partners. On top of that, there’s only so much one man can do to protect a defence which lacks an effective holding midfielder and even a top goalkeeper.

That said, as big a blow as losing a player like Coutinho will be, replacing him with a defender – to all intents and purposes – will help the balance of the team. There is still a lot of attacking talent in the squad, but now there’s more defensive solidity, too.

Likely formation

This has been a Premier League season of reacting to what others are doing.

Last year, when Antonio Conte led his Chelsea side to the title using a back-three formation which took the league by storm, that led to copycat attempts by plenty of other teams this season: pretty much every top six club has tried it at times this year, and when one team uses it, you’ll often see the opponents use the same system to attempt to match it up symmetrically.

This fixture, though, is between two of the most tactically rigid teams in the league when it comes to team structure – strangely, for the two top scorers who are unpredictable in attack.

Both sides will likely line up with 4-3-3 formations, both will rely on pacey and prolific attackers, and both will be hoping that their back fours can withstand the pressure.

Most likely threat

This one is obvious. Liverpool’s attack will worry City’s defence, and has already done so this season.

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Losing Coutinho is obviously a blow to their potency for this fixture, but the reality is that against City, the pace of the other main three would have been more important, anyway. The Brazilian brings an ability to create chances and make things happen against deep defences, but against City, counter-attacking pace will be more important.

Mohamed Salah has been on fire over the last few months, and if Liverpool are to spring a surprise and actually beat the league leaders, they’ll have to rely on his goals once again.

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