Football – England – Premier League
Saturday 21st March 2015 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Stoke City’s impressive hat-trick of wins in the Premier League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost 1-0 to former Stoke boss Tony Pulis’s West Brom side.
But with three home wins from their last four, Stoke have a great chance of returning to winning form at their noisy Britannia Stadium with the visit of Crystal Palace this afternoon. Previous wins against QPR, Hull City and Everton have lifted The Potters into the top half of the top flight, while their overall home record stands at 7-2-5 19/17.
In addition, Stoke have kept two clean sheets in their last two home matches which will have pleased manager Mark Hughes, while forwards Crouch and Diouf along with midfielders Adam and Moses are capable of hitting the back of the net.
Crystal Palace have certainly been revived since the arrival of former Eagles player Alan Pardew after he finished his awkward union with Newcastle United, and they find themselves in a much more favourable position of 12th in the Premier League.
Palace’s away record stands at 4-6-5 17/20 and their decent five-match run on the road came to an end at Southampton in a 1-0 defeat a couple of weeks ago, and they face a difficult trip to Stoke who have been in decent form themselves on their own turf.
Given Stoke’s impressive home form of late, I’ll back the hosts for perhaps a 1-0 win here today as they look to gain ground on 7th placed Tottenham.
Pick: Stoke City straight win @ 2.20 Bet Victor
