City boss tips Liverpool for title tilt

Most pundits predicted this season's title race to be a two-horse race between Manchester United and Chelsea and Pulis admits he too expected those sides to be a class above the other two members of the traditional 'big four'.

Liverpool sit at the summit after 20 games, though, and Pulis believes they must now be considered genuine contenders to claim the Premier League trophy in May.

He said: "They can definitely win the Premier League if they carry on as they are. They've a lot closer to Manchester United and Chelsea than people thought, and that includes me.

"I think the system Rafa uses is very good. He's very organised and very meticulous and I think he works very hard on the shape of the team and the system.

"Their two midfield players sit very close to the two centre-halves so they don't get exposed or leave themselves open to counter attacks. Then they've got Gerrard playing in a great positon just off the top when he can look for the spaces and when he does that he can hurt you."

Stoke host the league leaders looking to bounce back from a humiliating FA Cup exit at Hartlepool and Pulis has warned his players not to 'shoot themselves in the foot' again as they have done in recent weeks.

Three successive league defeats have seen the Potters slip into the relegation zone for the first time since October but Pulis feels his side can Liverpool if they replicate their early-season performance at Anfield, where they drew 0-0.

Pulis said: "It's another special occassion for this football club and it will be a great game for the players and the supporters. It's going to be tough because I've just watched a tape of the Newcastle game where they absolutely murdered them.

"They've got loads of confidence at the moment and they're top of the league so we know what we're in for. But we enjoy these occassions and we've got to replicate the performance we put in at Anfield and then try to cause them some problems when we get the ball.

"Liverpool will keep hold of it for long periods because they have unbelievable players but when we get it we have to be a threat because you have to be at home.

"We've got to take the performance we put in against Manchester United into this game and if we can do that and keep 11 players on the pitch then you never know."

Stoke have slipped into the relegation zone after three successive defeats in the league but Pulis has not got too many complaints with the performances in the games against Manchester United and West Ham.

He has admitted his disappointment at the Hartlepool defeat but insists it will have no effect on a greatly-changed side with 18 games to ensure their survival.

He said: "We've shot ourselves in the foot recently. The performances against Manchester United and West Ham were good and on another occassion we could have had four points.

"The defeats weren't due to a lack of effort and it wasn't because of the performances, we've just shot ourselves in the foot and you can't afford to do that at any level.

"The Hartlepool game was a big disappointment but we've now got 18 cup finals and it's important we all focus on that. The team on Saturday will be completely different to the one that played against Hartlepool anyway, there'll be seven or eight changes.

"After Liverpool we've got Chelsea and then by the time we go to Tottenham Harry (Redknapp) will have bought all the sweets out of the shop so we know this will be a tough month. This is when we need everyone to stick together as a group."