Tag: Stoke City

A Must Win Game For Tottenham

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

IT’S a must win game for Tottenham in the Premier League this weekend when they host Stoke at White Hart Lane and anything other than three points can see their title challenge over.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side has been struggling of late in the Premier League with just one win in their last four and this is going to be a lot tougher than the layers are predicting.

Spurs did bounce back to winning ways with a Harry Kane hat-trick in the 3-0 FA Cup win at Championship Fulham last weekend, but in the Premier League they’ve been struggling for goals with just one scored in their last four matches and the first bets I like in this one are going against goals again.

Both teams have now failed to score in the last FIVE Tottenham matches and with under 2.5 goals, a winning bet in six of the last seven Stoke matches. both of those markets look the best wagers in Sunday’s match-up.

Under 2.5 goals is surprisingly as big as 2.30 with BetVictor and despite this fixture having a long history of goals that looks a good bet and the “no” in the BTTS market is certainly one for the weekend coupons as well at 1.92 with BetVictor again.

Can Tottenham be Trusted?

Spurs has let odds-on favourites down twice in the last couple of weeks at Sunderland and Gent, but at home, they usually get the job done and arrive in this one on the back of TEN straight home successes.

I couldn’t back them though at the 1.40 on offer generally, as Stoke has been their bogey team in recent years with just one home win in the last five meetings.

Mark Huges’ side are a stand-out 10.00 with BetVictor to get a famous win in north London, but I think the game-plan will be to frustrate and try to get a point, but eventually Tottenham will break through and instead of taking the heavy odds-on for a home win I will be having a small wager on a 1-0 home win at 8.00 with BetVictor yet again.

I also strongly believe that it might take the home side a little time to break down the red and white bus that is going to be facing them and for that reason another small wager on the draw at half-time and a Tottenham win at the final whistle is suggested at a very nice looking 4.33 with, yes you’ve guessed it BetVictor again.

Who Will Win the Top Midlands Derby?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Leicester City may have been crowned champions last season but that is well and truly in the past now. There is little doubt as to who the current top two teams are in the midlands. That honour belongs to West Brom and Stoke City. Once again they are showing the rest of the league how to survive comfortably in what is the toughest league in Europe. Their respective managers Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes must take a lot of credit for that.

The balance of power in the midlands has swung away from Aston Villa and Birmingham City in recent seasons. West Brom is best-priced 11-8 with BetVictor and as the home team are rightly the clear favourites. Tony Pulis spent several successful seasons at Stoke and was the guiding force behind their transition into being a regular Premier League club.

Simply Nothing to Choose

The fact of the matter is that there is simply nothing to choose between these two clubs. This has been the case for the past several seasons. Clubs like West Brom and Stoke never seem to fire the imagination but both of them play entertaining football when they need to and are a match for any top club on their day.

Stoke are a best-priced 12-5 with Bet365 while the draw is an interesting 11-5. If you fancy these two teams to battle out a draw but you don’t fancy the 11-5 then why not take the better odds of 4-1 on the score being level at half-time and full-time? That seems to be better value given the fact that there is so little to choose between these teams.

Stoke have the Flair Players

Stoke City do seem to have the better of it when it comes to talent. Players like Marko Arnautovic, Charlie Adam and Xerdan Shaqiri are players who can turn a game and excite the crowd. West Brom, on the other hand, have grit and that reflects their “no nonsense” manager Tony Pulis. Games like these are often decided by singular moments of brilliance or a big decision by the referee or possibly by pure luck. There are rarely comfortable wins for either team and that especially applies to the away team.

So we can expect a close encounter with the winning margin being no more than two goals at best. Stoke and West Brom are renowned for grinding results out with their solid approaches and that is why they are where they are in the league table.

Can Stoke Tame the Toffees?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are some matches in the Premier League that are tough to call. Stoke City versus Everton is one of them. The Stoke manager Mark Hughes must be one of the most underrated managers in the top division. For several seasons he has guided Stoke well clear of the drop zone and into mid-table safety. That kind of record doesn’t get talked about, but keeping a club at that level in what is the most competitive league in world football is no mean feat.

His Stoke team host Everton and both teams are going into this match on the back of impressive results. Stoke was seconds away from beating Manchester United before Wayne Rooney scored a spectacular stoppage time equaliser. Stoke City have 28pts from 22 games and are currently 16pts clear of the drop zone. So once again, they are well clear of any potential relegation threat.

Koeman has Transformed Everton

Everton will prove to be very tough opposition for Stoke despite having home advantage at the Bet365 Stadium. Since the beginning of December, Everton has lost twice in the league. They were unlucky to lose 3-2 at Watford and the Merseyside derby at home to Liverpool. They gained a creditable draw against Manchester United but have recorded some positive wins since then.

This includes beating Arsenal and Leicester away in December while also beating Southampton and Crystal Palace in January. The “jewel in the crown” with regards to their recent results was their 4-0 hammering of Manchester City. This has left Everton in seventh place just five points behind Manchester United.

Backing Stoke is Clear Value

There is very little to choose between these two teams. Everton clearly has a slight edge but with Stoke having home advantage then value should be easy to find. Once again it is worth repeating that Stoke was seconds away from beating Manchester United. The gap between Stoke and Everton is a mere eight points. You can get almost 2-1 on a Stoke City victory as Betfred quote odds of 15-8.

You can also get odds of 12-5 on the draw with BetVictor who also quote 8-5 on an Everton victory. Both of these teams lack a top class proven finisher. So the odds of 6-5 from BetVictor that both teams will not score may be of interest. If you expect either team to win by the odd goal then PaddyPower quote 17-2 for a 1-0 win for Everton while Bet365 quote odds of 9-1 for a 1-0 win for Stoke.

Can Leicester City Finally Start to Play Like Champions?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The 2015-16 Premier League season will go down in history as being the season that the “impossible” happened. People across the globe were speaking about Leicester City and how they overcame odds of 5000-1 to win one of the toughest leagues in world football. Most football pundits didn’t expect Leicester to repeat that feat, but they also didn’t expect them to be languishing near the bottom approaching Christmas.

Their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth in midweek was their eighth loss in the league this season. That comes after just sixteen matches. Leicester only lost three games in thirty-eight matches last season. They currently have 16pts from 16 games and that is going to leave them fighting relegation should their current points per game ratio continue.

The Distraction of the Champions League

Clearly, the Champions League has been a huge distraction for the Foxes. They managed to qualify easily from a relatively simple group. They don’t have to worry about that competition again until February. The problem is that they simply cannot seem to put a run of decent results together. They beat Manchester City 4-2 at the weekend and looked like the Leicester City of last season.

Their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth was a poor follow on from that, and once again leaves their fans fearing the worst. Leicester travels to face Stoke City on Saturday. They couldn’t have picked a worst time to play Stoke because Mark Hughes has really got his Stoke team firing again. Stoke started the season poorly but have had a run of good results in recent weeks.

The Britannia is a Fortress Again

Stoke City didn’t win a match in the Premier League this season until almost the end of October. That worrying run even had some of their loyal fans fearing the worst. Stoke City has become a very resilient team under Mark Hughes, and once again they have weathered the storm. They will provide a very formidable opponent for Leicester and especially at the Britannia Stadium.

William Hill quotes Stoke as 7-5 favourites for this match which is fair. You can get 2-1 with Stan James for the draw, while a Leicester City win is 5-2 with William Hill. It is tough to find any value with those odds. Some of the alternative odds markets may provide some interest. Bet365, for example, quote odds of 9-4 that Stoke will keep a clean sheet.

Will Leicester Find the Net?

Leicester failed to trouble the Bournemouth keeper in midweek and may do so again at Stoke. Betway quote 13-10 on the winning margin being only one goal. That particular market may be of interest to some punters. It is amazing to think that we could see the champions relegated this season.

That has only happened once before in history. Leicester should slowly start to pick up points but don’t bet too much on that happening this weekend at Stoke. Even the 2-1 odds on the draw doesn’t seem a bad bet considering that Leicester hasn’t won away from home in the league all season.

Chelsea to maintain Premiership advantage

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea and Manchester City each face tricky opposition on Wednesday night in the Premier League. The London club moved seven points clear of the champions on Saturday courtesy of Branislav Ivanovic’s fine drive against Aston Villa. They now face Everton at Stamford Bridge as leading scorer Diego Costa sits out the final match of his suspension for the stamping incident against Liverpool last month.

Everton have not won at the Bridge in their last twenty visits and were beaten 6-3 in an extraordinary game at Goodison Park earlier in the season. Roberto Martinez’s team were hovering dangerously close to the drop zone before their victory over Crystal Palace recently. A dour 0-0 draw with Liverpool suggests that they have steadied the ship and should provide a tough test for Jose Mourinho’s side. If the Blues are to go on to be crowned champions, these are just the sort of games that they need to grind out a result. Ivanovic scored a vital goal against Liverpool prior to his strike against Villa and looks over-priced in the goals markets.

Manchester City have been poor recently and have only picked up three points in their last four league matches. Sergio Aguero is yet to hit the target since returning from his latest injury while you have to go back to September to find Edin Dzeko’s last goal. They travel to Stoke who are in great form at present. Mark Hughes had the satisfaction of inflicting a rare home defeat on Manuel Pellegrini’s side earlier in the season and his side can cause further problems on Wednesday.

How ironic to hear Sam Allardyce criticising Manchester United for their long-ball tactics at the weekend. This is Big Sam who was positively purring with delight after parking a claret and blue bus in front of goal against Chelsea last season and escaping with a point. The Hammers are a different side altogether this season and now travel to St Mary’s hoping to dent Southampton’s hopes of a top four spot. Both sides have been struggling in front of goal recently and this match could produce a stalemate.

United salvaged a point at West Ham and should have little trouble at home to seventeenth placed Burnley. Wayne Rooney started the season in great form but has not managed a shot on target in nearly seven hours of football this year. Fortunately for United, they have plenty of other attacking options with the unlikely figure of Fellaini providing them with an old-fashioned target man when the chips are down.

The other match that takes the eye on Wednesday is Crystal Palace at home to Newcastle. Alan Pardew will relish the prospect of moving within two points of his former club with a win here. The two previous fixtures between these teams produced eleven goals so it may worth taking a punt on a 3-2 win for the Eagles.

Chelsea to beat Everton by one goal @27-10 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score first @22-1 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score at any time @8-1 Betfred

Stoke v Man City DRAW @14-5 Betfair

Southampton 0 West Ham 0 @10-1 William Hill

Man United 3 Burnley 1 @12-1 Bet365

Crystal Palace 3 Newcastle 2 @40-1 Bet365