English Premier
2012-03-24 - Stoke City vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 24 March 2012 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Stoke City
Tony Pulis is surely going to be very proud of his team that have given him so much already this season with decent runs in all the Cup competitions they participated in, while also making sure they have picked up enough points in the Premier League to ensure they have another season in the top flight. Stoke City are definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but there is no doubting their ability to earn big results and making sure that any team they play know they have been involved in a tough game.
The team moved up to 11th in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night as they look to finish in the top half of the Premier League for their highest League finish in years. Stoke have a 6-4-4 record at the Brittania Stadium this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding 14.
While their record at home has not been as dominant as their previous seasons in the Premier League, Stoke have earned positive results here against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham already this season. They have failed to win any of their last 3 games in all competitions, but all of those games have been away from home. Stoke have won their last 2 games at home after losing 3 in a row in all competitions.
Salif Diao is a doubt for this game as he picked up a knock against Tottenham on Wednesday, while Ricardo Fuller completes his domestic suspension. There are no other injury concerns for Pulis ahead of the match.
Manchester City
When Gary Cahill scored on Wednesday night, Manchester City fans must have been feeling that their Premier League dream was going to take a knock that would have been extremely difficult to recover from. However, City managed to turn that game around and earn a vital three points, leaving them in a position to turn up the pressure on Manchester United by taking the lead back in the Premier League.
City come into the game trailing United by 1 point in the race for the title, but they can move ahead of the Red Devils if they can earn a positive result from this one with United not playing until Monday night. However, Roberto Mancini knows it will only take three points to really ramp the pressure up on their local rivals and will be hoping the second best away record in the League will provide that. City are 7-3-4 away from home, scoring 27 goals and conceding 14.
While City do have the second best away record in terms of points gained this season, it is on their travels that they have begun to really struggle compared to their early season form. City have only won 3 of their last 10 away games in all competitions, while they have lost back to back away games at Sporting Lisbon and Swansea. The team have won just 2 of their last 8 away games in the Premier League, while their 4 losses this season have come in the last 7 games.
Carlos Tevez made a vital contribution in his return to first team action on Wednesday night, setting up the winning goal for Samir Nasri, but he is likely to be on the bench again. Roberto Mancini may have to do without his first choice centre halves as both Joleon Lescott and Vincent Kompany are struggling to return to the side in time for this game, although there are no other injury worries.
Head to Head
Manchester City beat Stoke City 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, but they have not enjoyed so much success on their travels to the Potteries.
The teams have met 4 times at the Brittania Stadium in all competitions since Stoke City returned to the top flight- Stoke have won 2 of those games, and City are yet to win here.
Matthew Etherington earned a late point for Stoke here last season with a 90th minute equaliser after Micah Richards scored with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Prediction
This is going to be a really tough test of Manchester City's credentials of winning the Premier League as they face a side that loves making life awkward for the best teams in the League in front of their passionate support.
City have really been struggling away from home over the last couple of months, especially in the Premier League and something has to be said about the fact that they have lost 4 of their last 7 on their travels in the League.
A big concern for the fans will be the performances in the losses at Everton and Swansea when it never looked likely that the team was going to get something more from the games, while the absence of Lescott and Kompany is huge against a side like Stoke that will test the centre halves with balls coming into the box from all angles.
Stoke have played a lot of football this season and have a relatively small squad to do that with so tiredness can be a factor in this game. However, they will be up for playing one of the title challengers and I think they will be pumped for the game.
They will make this tough for City from the get go and I think City will be in big trouble if they come out with the same kind of performance as they had at Everton and Swansea. Missing the centre halves will be a big problem to deal with for Roberto Mancini and their recent away record makes them look a big risk at 1.61.
Stoke have not been beaten here by Manchester City, and they have shown their ability with results against 4 of the top 7 with only Newcastle United from that crop of teams currently winning here. It is taking a chance, but taking Stoke to avoid defeat at a decent odds against looks the call.
Don't think this is me letting my heart rule my head as I picked City to beat Chelsea on Wednesday night, I just don't believe they should be as short as they are with only 2 away wins from 8 Premier League games.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Stoke City 1-1 Manchester City
