Football – England – Premier League
Saturday 22nd November 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
The Britannia Stadium is my next port of call as the hosts Stoke City look to build upon their impressive 2-1 win away at Tottenham just before the international break.
The Potters registered a valuable three points with that win at White Hart Lane which has kept Stoke City in a comfortable mid-table position and a healthy six points ahead of third from bottom club Leicester City. Mark Hughes’ side have also recently beaten Swansea city 2-1 at home along with gaining a point against West Ham in a 2-2 draw as they’ve been unbeaten in their last three at the Britannia.
Stoke’s away form has been less convincing but that doesn’t matter to us much for this clash as their overall home record stands at 2-1-2 5/5 with a visit from bottom club Burnley this afternoon. Another three points for the hosts here could see them on the fringes of the european spots.
Visitors Burnley registered a much-needed three points prior to the break when they beat hull City 1-0 at Turf Moor which handed manager Sean Dyche his first Premier League win. However, they still remain bottom of the pile with just seven points to their name and they still remain without a win on their travels this term.
The Clarets are one of only three clubs yet to register a win away from home this season, the other two being Manchester United and QPR. Burnley’s away record stands at a shaky 0-2-3 2/10 with only fellow strugglers Leicester City scoring fewer goals than them on the road.
Burnley have in fact failed to score in four of their five away matches to date, while their overall record away from home in the top flight is an absolute disaster as they’ve racked up just one win from their last 24 matches at this level!
This last statistic I believe holds the key for this fixture and with Stoke City’s gradual improvement on home turf along with their experience at this level, I reckon the points will be going Stoke’s way today in what could perhaps be a 1-0 win for the hosts.
Pick: Stoke City straight win @ 1.70 Paddy Power
