English Premier
2009-03-14 - Everton vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
Football: England, Premier League
Saturday, 14th March 2009 - Kickoff 15:00
Everton (6th - Home Rec : 5-5-4 20:16)
Ignore Everton's season home record at Goodison Park and just cast your eyes over their last six games at home (shown in the stats down below) where the Toffees are 4-2-0 with just one goal conceded ... and those two draws came against Chelsea and Arsenal as well.
Against the other four sides, Everton have won the lot, scoring 10 goals and conceding ZERO, and that's a pretty emphatic statistic, and you can also add in the "feel good" factor of an upcoming FA Cup semi-final at Wembley as well.
Everton have got players coming back to fitness, such as Louis Saha, and they appear a team high on confidence.
Everton Team News :
Midfielder Andy van der Meyde is Everton's only new injury worry after he injured a hamstring in training.
Defender Tony Hibbert (thigh) is out but striker Louis Saha could start and Brazilian Jo is back in the squad.
Stoke (16th - Away Rec : 0-4-10 10:31)
Stoke City are only a point away from the drop zone, and with a goal difference that is significantly worse than sides immediately around them it seems likely that relegation will be beckoning after the weekend results.
At home Stoke have done OK with 7 wins, but with a total of just FOUR points from four draws on the road it's easy to pick why they're sitting so low - and 31 goals conceded in 14 games will not do the job.
You can argue that Stoke are improving, with a 2-2-1 record in their last five games, and a fighting 2-2 draw against Aston Villa last time on the road.
But once again, it's nearly all done at home, and prior to that draw with Villa there has been a string of five away defeats and as you can see the Potters are conceding 2 or 3 goals regularly in each game ... it's hard to avoid defeat with defending like that.
Stoke Team News :
Things are looking up as Matthew Etherington has completed a three-match ban and returns to a full strength Stoke squad.
Defenders Abdoulaye Faye and Andy Wilkinson are also both fully fit after a 10-day break.
Head to Head
No recent league games played here.
Everton edged the reverse fixture with a 3-2 victory at the Britannia Stadium in September. Stoke fought back from two goals down before Tim Cahill scored the winner with 13 minutes left.
The Betting Verdict
The respective home / away form points strongly to a victory for the home side, and possibly a clean sheet as well.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Everton 2-0 Stoke City
BEST BETTING TIP :
The price on an EVERTON win is fair.If you want to boost the payout then you could try Everton to win with a clean sheet which pays out at 2.38 at BoyleSports as a riskier option.
