Stoke striker Michael Owen could feature against former club Manchester United

2. Let’s hope canny Pulis gets the best out of Owen Michael Owen’s arrival at Stoke is intriguing for many reasons. It is further evidence that Tony Pulis, that canny operator, is changing his team’s style. It is confirmation of Stoke’s status as an (PA)

Stoke boss Tony Pulis will assess the condition of Glenn Whelan and Michael Owen ahead of tomorrow's Barclays Premier League clash with the latter's former club Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Midfielder Whelan, who came off in the 0-0 draw at Liverpool with a hamstring problem which kept him out of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers against Germany and the Faroe Islands, is rated "50-50" by Pulis.

The manager has also said he expects striker Owen, missing from the Liverpool game after tweaking his groin, to only be fit enough for a place on the bench at best, but defender Andy Wilkinson is available again after completing a three-match suspension.

Provisional squad: Begovic, Sorensen, Huth, Shawcross, Cameron, Upson, Shotton, Wilson, Whelan, Etherington, Delap, Palacios, Jones, Jerome, Crouch, Walters, Kightly, Whitehead, Adam, Edu, Nzonzi, Owen, Ness, Wilkinson.

PA