This looks to be a really stinky tie for Stoke City, and Alex Neil. There is a lot of discontent around the club at the moment as yet another season appears to be petering out for the former Premier League outfit.

Alex Neil was brought in, to many peoples’ surprise, in late August, to provide some impetus to what the club would’ve hoped to be a playoff push. However, the situation with the squad appears to be more complicated than that. The manager has been unable to find any spark in the players or the right balance to the team. Performances haven’t really improved markedly from the Michael O’Neill regime and one senses that already patience is wearing thin.

With this backdrop of discontent, the last thing you need is an away trip to a hostile lower league ground. It has all the hallmarks, cold, blustery day on the North Sea coast, an opponent that, though struggling near the bottom of League Two, have shown improvement recently with a resurgent attitude. The home side will be up for this, as will Keith Curle the manager.

Hartlepool do have some threats too. Josh Umerah is back in the side and is a young, quick and strong forward who is Hartlepool’s top scorer this season. Callum Cooke has also been in good recent form and provides some good technique and passing, as well as set piece delivery. They have every chance of at least scoring in this tie, which makes Stoke’s challenge that bit trickier.

With the Monkey Hangers being such big underdogs in this tie it is possible to get on board with them on the +2 handicap, which means that they can even lose the tie by a single goal and you can still collect. If Hartlepool keep Stoke out in the first 20-30 minutes it could get really tense and tight in Teesside, despite the yawning gap between the clubs in the pyramid.