By Alan Hudson.....
I'll be at the Britannia for the big one this Sunday. You might think I'll have divided loyalties - don't you believe it.
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A wise betting man would steer clear of the odds and put his house on Chelsea making the quarter-finals. But this is football and anything goes, particularly where Chelsea are concerned. And nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing Captain Birdseye crying into his beard all the way back to London.
To stand any chance, though, the City boys must be really wound up and I'm sure Tony Pulis has been cracking the whip all week.
An average player can look good in space, a good player can look very good, a very good player a world beater.
So it's imperative the Stoke lads close down space in the right areas to prevent the Chelsea stars running them ragged with their passing, movement and guile.
Stoke must make the pitch smaller by giving the Blues no time on the ball. This starts from the front, so I want to see the Stoke strikers giving Cudicini the rush to make sure he kicks hurriedly straight down the throat of the home defence and can't throw wide to the flanks.
The more of a scrap it becomes, the more chance of Stoke pulling off a shock, for they can never hope to outplay a side blessed with your Hasselbainks, Zolas, Gudjohnsens etc.