English FA CUP

2026-02-15 - Stoke City vs Fulham

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Stoke City v Fulham
Football: English FA Cup Fourth Round
Sunday 15th February 2025 - Kick Off 2pm
This game is live on TV

Stoke City

The tenth straight season the Premier League ended in a surprising relegation for Stoke City who had always been pretty comfortable since returning to the top flight. Now they are in the middle of a stretch of eight years in the second tier of English Football and Mark Robins needs his team to turn things around very quickly if Stoke City are even going to challenge for a Play Off spot.

Following relegation, Stoke City have been through a number of managers in their bid to return to the Premier League, but they have not finished higher than 14th in the previous seven years. That is exactly where The Potters sit right now after a slump in form and Stoke City will be hoping a Cup exit can just give the squad a platform from which they can surge up the domestic standings.

Stoke City beat Mark Robins' old team Coventry City in the FA Cup Third Round last month, but have failed to win any of the next 6 games and been beaten 3 times in that run. The side have suffered consecutive defeats at the Bet365 Stadium against Middlesbrough and Southampton.

Fulham

Earlier this season, Nottingham Forest were linked with a move to bring in Marco Silva as manager and the vacancy has come up once again. This time they look to be appointing a manager that is out of work, but Silva's future with Fulham looks like it will be coming to an end at the conclusion of the season with extension talks not currently taking place.

The manager has made sure the players are still pulling in the right direction together, but Marco Silva will be looking for a big reaction after the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday. He has long placed plenty of stock in Fulham having a deep Cup run in either the League Cup or FA Cup and they were Quarter Finalists last season in this competition. The side got the better of Championship leaders Middlesbrough in the FA Cup Third Round last month, but Fulham did host that fixture.

Fulham have lost a bit of momentum with 4 losses in the last 5 games played, including defeats in each of the last 3. They have failed to win any of the last 4 away games, while Fulham have lost 3 in a row on their travels, which makes this a potentially awkward Cup tie to negotiate.

Tom Cairney and Sasa Lukic are not expected to travel. Marco Silva is likely going to make some changes to the starting eleven, but not to the extent that other Premier League clubs might do this weekend.

Head to Head

These two clubs last met in the 2021/22 Championship season and it was Fulham who won both League fixtures.

Stoke City had won 4 in a row at home against Fulham, but that run ended in a 2-3 defeat in the most recent fixture at the Bet365 Stadium in January 2022.

Prediction

The FA Cup might have been scheduled for individual weekends through to the Semi Final Round in order to make sure all clubs take the competition more seriously than they have in recent years, but changes have to be expected.

It has been a busy period for many top flight clubs and there are plenty more fixtures to fit in before the next international break.

Fulham will have to make some rotations to freshen up the squad, but Marco Silva will be very keen in guiding his team to a long run in the competition. He has regularly picked stronger sides than expected in the Cup competitions and Fulham have some real quality to come in for this tie at a mid-table Championship club.

Unfortunately for Stoke City, that has been their status since being relegated from the Premier League having failed to finish above 14th in the Championship in any of the last seven years. The fact they are 14th again says it all and recent form has been poor since moving past Coventry City in the FA Cup Third Round.

Mark Robins has had considerable success in the FA Cup both as a player and a manager and his team could cause some problems, but the recent defensive performances have to be a concern.

The television cameras will be searching for an upset, but Fulham may have too much firepower in this Fourth Round tie.