English Premier
2012-04-21 - Newcastle United vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 21 April 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Newcastle United
Newcastle United have had a couple of weeks off from Premier League action and it will be interesting to see how their players have dealt with the new expectations building in the Toon. They will now know that a Champions League place is very much within their sights and how they handle that pressure could be key to their remaining 5 games.
The team are 5th in the Premier League table, but only courtesy of an inferior goal difference to Tottenham Hotspur, and they are also just 5 points behind Arsenal with an additional League game to play. With the way the Saturday schedule is staggered, Newcastle will move into the Champions League spots with a win here. They have a 10-5-2 record at St James' Park this season, scoring 26 goals and conceding 15.
They have shown tremendous heart to win their last 5 Premier League games in a row since losing at Arsenal courtesy of a last minute goal from Thomas Vermaelan. Newcastle have really been performing well here, winning 7 of their last 9 in all competitions, including the last 3 in a row without conceding a goal.
Tim Krul suffered a back injury in the win over Bolton Wanderers last time out but is expected to play. Chieck Tiote should be back for selection, although Danny Guthrie and James Perch will need late fitness tests.
Stoke City
Stoke City have had a long season with their participation in the Europa League as well as deep runs in the Carling Cup and the FA Cup and there is a theory that they may begin looking ahead to the Summer break and a chance for the small squad to recharge their batteries. Tony Pulis will urge them to go forward and pick up a top half finish and will try and coax the last bit of energy from his side.
They are 14th in the table but their 42 point tally means they are only 5 points behind Everton in 7th. Stoke already know they are unlikely to finish any lower than the position they currently occupy so they can play with a little bit of freedom. The Potters are 4-4-9 away from home this season, scoring 11 goals and conceding 29.
Stoke have won just 1 of their last 7 games in all competitions as they wind this season down. They have gone 6 games away from home in all competitions since their last win, losing 4 of those games. Stoke have actually lost 4 of their last 6 games away from home in the Premier League.
Jermaine Pennant should return to the Stoke squad having been suffering from an illness recently. There are no other new injury worries for them.
Head to Head
Newcastle United won 1-3 at the Brittania Stadium earlier this season thanks to a hat-trick from Demba Ba.
Stoke City had been unbeaten in 4 straight League games before that defeat this season.
The Potters earned a 1-2 win here last season and drew 2-2 on their previous visit.
Prediction
Newcastle United have been in very good form recently, but I can't shake this nagging feeling that they may be in a for a let down performance after seeing the League table for the last couple of weeks and realising what kind of opportunity has been put in front of them.
The Champions League would have been a dream at the start of the season and the fact that they are level on points with Tottenham for that final place will put them under a different sort of pressure now.
Stoke have played a lot of football this season so there is a real feeling that they could be looking ahead to their Summer holidays, but Tony Pulis loves firing up his troops for games like this against the 'better' teams in the Premier League.
With my gut telling me not to back either side, I am just going to have a small interest on Papiss Cisse to continue his hot streak in front of goal and open up the scoring in this one.
Cisse has scored in his last 5 starts for Newcastle United, opening the scoring in 4 of those games so I think he looks decent at 5.00 to do so again here.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Newcastle United 2-1 Stoke City
