Team news

Stoke preview
Stoke centre-back Ryan Shawcross is in contention to face Tottenham at the Britannia Stadium after returning from a three-match suspension.

The 22-year-old has been sidelined since being sent off for the tackle with broke Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey's leg on February 27.

He picked up an ankle niggle in training on Wednesday but is hopeful of being fit.

Striker Ricardo Fuller is pushing for a recall to the starting line-up, with Stoke having scored two goals in their last four matches.

Before the game, manager Tony Pulis has warned his players of the dangers of easing up despite their survival virtually being assured.

The Potters are currently 11th on 36 points, 12 clear of the drop zone with nine matches to play.

At the same stage last year, in Stoke's maiden Premier League campaign, they were third-bottom with 29 points but went on to finish 12th with 45 points.

With the task seemingly much easier this time around Pulis was keen to point out it did not mean the players could afford to think their job had been done.

And he highlighted the fortunes of the likes of Derby, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday as examples of what can happen if you lose focus.

"The last 19 months at this club have been brilliant and it has been an exciting journey but we mustn't take our foot off the pedal," said Pulis.

"The club and supporters have to recognise you can soon slip.

"You only have to look to the Championship to see a lot of clubs who have spent a lot more time in the Premier League than we have.

"They have taken their foot off the pedal for one reason or another and they are in real dire situations.

"It is a job you have to keep pushing and driving forward."

Tottenham preview
Tottenham will be without striker Jermain Defoe, who has a hamstring injury.

He joins Ledley King (thigh), Jermaine Jenas (groin), Aaron Lennon (groin), David Bentley (groin/virus) on the sidelines, while Danny Rose (knee) and Kyle Walker (arm) are also out.

Defender Jonathan Woodgate (groin) and goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini (wrist/pelvis) are long-term absentees.

Stoke vs Tottenham

Last modified 21:38 20/03/10

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Fuming Stoke boss Tony Pulis launched a scathing attack on referee Mike Dean after seeing classy Tottenham take a cast-iron grip on the last remaining Champions League place.

Pulis was seething over Dean’s decision to send off ­Potters midfielder Dean Whitehead for a 49th minute foul on Luka Modric.

City have had five players red-carded this season, and Dean has dismissed three of them - Abdoulaye Faye, Andy Wilkinson and now ­Whitehead.

Pulis snapped: “This ref has not done brilliantly for us this season, and I expressed my concerns about him taking charge of this game.

“I wrote to referees chief Mike Riley and followed it up with a phone call saying, in effect, that we didn’t want Dean to ref us again for the rest of the season. He has given some very poor ­decisions against us and ­sending off Whitehead was another one.

“Football is a game of ­challenges and Whitehead, for me, mistimed a challenge – there was nothing more ­sinister than that.”

Pulis was backed up by Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, whose Premier League high- fliers have now won five on the spin after a first victory at Stoke for 25 years and look good for a fourth-place ­finish.

Redknapp said: “I thought the sending-off was a bit harsh. I reckon a final warning for the boy would have been enough in that situation.”

Redknapp was down to the bare bones in terms of bodies. He was without eight key players, including 17-goal top scorer Jermain Defoe who expects to be back from a pulled hamstring in 10 days.

It got worse as in-form Roman Pavlyuchenko dealt his manager another cruel injury blow when he was forced to hobble out of the ­action after 36 minutes and replaced by Eidur ­Gudjohnsen.

Spurs just about bossed an eminently forgettable first-half thanks to the thoughtful midfield play of Croatian duo Niko Kranjcar and Modric, and might have gone in at the interval ahead had Peter Crouch been a little more alert when Thomas Sorensen spilled Kranjcar’s 18th -minute half-volley.

But Dave Kitson was handed the best chance at the other end just before the break, twisting to get a header to a Rory Delap trademark throw only to see Heurelho Gomes push it away at full stretch.

The game really caught fire after the interval after ­Gudjohnsen had put his team in front with his first goal for the club.

Just 20 seconds had elapsed when Crouch set Gudjohnsen free with a lovely little lob ­forward. Veteran Iceland striker Gudjohnsen shrugged off Faye’s challenge before thumping a left-foot drive over the despairing Sorensen and into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later, the ­Potters were reduced to 10 men when Whitehead was sent off for his challenge on Modric, having been yellow-carded for a foul on the same player in the first half.

Nine minutes later, Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller had to act as peacemaker when ­Tottenham team-mates Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Vedran ­Corluka became involved in a jostling match in the centre circle.

Redknapp dismissed the clash afterwards, saying: “It was nothing – just a bit of an argument, and they probably couldn’t understand what each other was saying because one was speaking in French and the other in Croatian.”

Corluka might have had more cause to become ­aggrieved with Assou-Ekotto when the latter’s clumsy 64th-minute challenge on Kitson in the box conceded a penalty, which was put away ­comfortably by Matthew ­Etherington.

It was the former West Ham winger’s fourth goal of the ­season and, incredibly, ­elevated him to his side’s joint top scorer alongside Turkey striker Tuncay.

But gutsy Stoke stayed on level terms for only 13 ­minutes as Assou-Ekotto made amends.

The full-back drilled over a low cross, Gudjohnsen wrong-footed the home ­defence with a delicious dummy, and ­Kranjcar rifled home the winner from the edge of the box.