DUO RETURN FOR ROVERS

Morten Gamst Pedersen and El-Hadji Diouf look set to return for Rover's after both missing the last weekends game against Liverpool.

Pedersen has been recovering from a calf strain and Diouf as been laid low with a throat infection, both of them have been training all week and are included in the squad for the trip to the Britainia stadium to face Stoke on Saturday.

But two players who won't make the trip will be Jason Roberts and Roque Santa Cruz, Roberts is suffering with a fractured metatarsal and Cruz is recovering from a minor knee operation.

"We are looking forward to the game", said Allardyce at the Friday morning press call.

"And we are obviously pleased to have Morten and El-Hadji Diouf back, but we are still a way off Roque and Jason Roberts particularly to add to the squad.

"We may not have won the game but with them certainly we wouldn't have lost the game 4-0.

"I think we would have put a in more encouraging performance against a very good Liverpool side and I think that we'd have got closer to the sort of performance we gave against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

"But that wasn't to be because of those injuries, but hopefully we'll get back to how we know we can play on Saturday against Stoke."