Today at 3:45 p.m. Birmingham will host Stoke City at St. Andrews Stadium in England for the right to advance to the quarterfinals of the Capital One Cup. Live stream the match here.
Birmingham manager Lee Clark sees today's match as an opportunity to please the fans with advancement in the Capital Cup by feasting on a Stoke City team dealing with some difficult circumstances.
Since 2011 glory against Arsenal, Stoke City has had to sell several top players, including Jack Butland, Curtis Davies and Nathan Redmond because of financial constraints.
"I'm conscious of that every time we play, I want to give the fans a little bit of happiness because I understand what's going on and the predicament they're in," Clark said. "In terms of people who are at the forefront of my mind are my players, my staff and the supporters - I want to make them feel as happy as I possibly can every time we play.
"A good cup run can do that, I felt that after we beat Swansea in the last round, and we've got a chance against a Premier League team on Tuesday night. It's a tough call for us but every time we get out on the pitch I want to give them something back because I sense the support they're giving me and the group is really good."
Stoke seemed to be coming apart at the seams recently, when captain Ryan Shawcross went at it with Manchester United striker Robin Van Persie. According to reports, Shawcross had broken the leg of Van Persie's former teammate. "I don't think that was the reason there was an incident but we haven't really discussed that in terms of detail and what was said so I can't enlighten you," Mark Hughes, Stoke City boss said.
He expects this clash to strengthen his club for the stretch run in league play. "I've always said cup competitions can help your league form so if you get on a good run in the cup it can filter into your league form so it is an important game for us."
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