Preview: Manchester United v Stoke City

Date, time and coverage Saturday 26 October, kick-off 15:00 BST. You can follow the match via ManUtd.com's live blog and MUTV Online's exclusive radio commentary.

Form guide Manchester United head into this Barclays Premier League encounter on the back of a dominant 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in the UEFA Champions League, a match that boosted morale following last weekend's disappointing 1-1 draw with Southampton. That result has the Reds in eighth place with 11 points from a possible 24, a tally that David Moyes hopes to improve on with victory over Stoke City. Although the Potters are far from pushovers, they are enduring an unimpressive run of form that has seen them claim just two points from their last five matches.

Ins and outs Robin van Persie should return for the champions after sitting out Wednesday's triumph and Adnan Januzaj might also reclaim his starting place, while doubts remain over Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck, who were all missing in midweek. Mark Hughes, the ex-Reds striker and current Stoke manager, has a virtually fully-fit squad to choose from. Question marks are only hanging over Ryan Shawcross and Geoff Cameron.

Betting Understandably, official betting partners bwin have United priced as favourites at odds of 1.34 and Stoke at 8.25, while the draw is 5.00. If you're looking for more value, why not have an outside wager on Michael Carrick to score the first goal at 21.00?

Last meeting In April this year, United edged to within seven points of the title thanks to a 2-0 win at the Britannia Stadium, where goals from Michael Carrick and Robin van Persie proved decisive. For the latter, it was his first conversion in 751 minutes of action, prompting the Dutchman to embrace his manager Sir Alex Ferguson on the touchline in celebration.

The manager Reds legend Mark Hughes is the man at the helm, having replaced ex-Potters boss Tony Pulis in the summer. He's made a decent start too, but with just four goals chalked onto the board this season, the ex-Reds striker wants his side to be more clinical. "We've made opportunities, but we haven't been taking them. We do feel that we will start to convert them sooner, rather than later. We have a lot of options up top. We need to find that one combination which will be able to carry us through the season. We need to get the right balance and I think we are close to finding the right one."

Star man Potters keeper Asmir Begovic is high on confidence after helping Bosnia qualify for the World Cup, just days before impressing during Stoke's goalless draw with West Brom. "Weeks like this are what dreams are made of," he said. "Getting to the World Cup has been a dream of mine - what it meant to us and to the country was huge. A big motivation for us to qualify were our people back home. It's a big carrot now, going to Brazil. I don't have to be ready yet but I'm doing my work as best as I can."

Whistle-blower Lee Mason is the man in the middle. The Lancashire-based official is yet to take charge of either team this season.United fans previously saw him during last season's 1-0 win over Reading at Old Trafford.

Rivals watch At noon on Saturday, Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace before Liverpool host West Brom. On Sunday, Chelsea welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge.