Home draw at Stoke.

After an incredibly impressive victory against Premier League outfit Swansea, who not one week ago went to Valencia and recorded a 3-0 win, Blues were drawn against another team who play a patient, pass and move style - Stoke City. Whilst the Swansea game was seen as a very difficult game, that we would struggle to get anything out of, a home draw to Stoke seems very winnable - so we will almost definitely lose. Many people are now predicting that Blues will get through to the sixth round, which would be a very remarkable achievement for Clark and his young side, but Blues tend to do better as an underdog.

On paper, Blues could quite easily achieve a comfortable win. Stoke haven't had the best start and have always struggled to score goals, but are generally very solid defensively. Blues recently have employed a 3-4-3 system, that means they are naturally attacking, so we may be able to grab a goal or two. The problem is defensively - we are generally unable to keep a clean sheet, but fortunately, Stoke aren't exactly free-flowing going forwards. They do have some Premier League quality players however going forward. Dan Burn will be a key figure at the heart of the defence, as he will be responsible for halting the aerial threat posed by the likes of Peter Crouch or Kenwyne Jones. The two centre-backs either side of them will have to mop up and cover the runs of the other forward, usually Jonathan Walters. This seems a reasonably solid defensive unit, but the real danger comes from the flanks. Marko Arnautovic has so far looked a superb acquisition for the Potters, with his tricky dribbling and intelligence causing problems for defenders. With him on one wing, and ex-Blue Jermaine Pennant on the other, Stoke could cause real problems if they get in behind the left and right midfielders, which is a real problem in a 3-4-3 system.

What can Blues offer to cause problems to their Premier League opponents? Blues have a huge striker themselves, in imposing striker Nikola Zigic, who is returning to fitness soon. Aerial bombardment might not be the best plan against a defence of Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross, so it would not surprise me to see the pace and movement of Matt Green upfront instead. Whether Jesse Lingard can play might be make or break - whilst Shane Ferguson is a terrific winger, crossing may be futile, so the inverted winger Lingard may be able to unlock Stoke's defence. As the left midfielder, either David Murphy or young full-back Mitch Hancox, overlaps, the left back will be forced to follow the run, which might leave Lingard one on one with Huth or Shawcross. To counter this, Stoke's wingers will have to drop to cover the runs, which could push Stoke back. As their wingers are so dangerous, this could be a massive plus for Blues. We can then push them high up the pitch with players like Tom Adeyemi, who pressured so effectively against Swansea and try and cause mistakes.

Whatever the result, Blues v Stoke promises to be an interesting game, to see how far we can go. Hopefully, the recent flourish of goals is not a one-off thing and we have finally found a system that suits the team. We might even go on a decent run - who knows?