As he prepares his side for today's visit to the Potteries, Luiz Felipe Scolari has been making plans to deal with Rory Delap's long throw-ins.

The 31-year-old midfielder has drawn attention in recent weeks for his ability to launch the ball into the heart of the goal area, and Scolari is impressed with what he has seen.

'They have one man that is fantastic. I think he puts the ball better with his hands than his foot, it is fantastic. I don't see it in my life before and they make many goals with this situation. We need to think about controlling this and the counter-attack,' he said.

'It is dangerous because the ball does not fly, it is direct, it is fantastic. I like it because it is different. Maybe in training it will be one hour of this and one hour play, not shoot anymore, it is very well!'

Stoke's direct style has drawn comparisons with the Wimbledon side of the 1990s, managed by interim Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear. Scolari has defended Tony Pulis's side's style.

'Maybe it's not beautiful football but it pays. I saw many times the ball inside the box and many problems with the first and second ball,' he explained.

'At the start of the season they put the touchline closer in because they are intelligent. I like this coach. It is the minimum that Fifa, Uefa and the FA permit. Maybe its' not beautiful, but if you make goals it is more beautiful than not making goals.'

Petr Cech explained yesterday that he has a plan for dealing with Delap's throws, and that he has had to study Stoke more than other opponents. Scolari concurred, it has certainly been a learning curve preparing for this game.

'I have seen more videos of Stoke than Manchester United because Manchester United I saw every day in the week on television, and I need to know more about Stoke than Manchester. I spent the last three days looking at videos of how they play, who is their best player,' the Brazilian said.

With homework complete, there will be no excuses if the side leaves the west Midlands without three points this evening.