Saturday 10th September 2016 Kickoff: 1600
Stoke v Tottenham Hotspur
Football – England – Premier League
The first international break has now concluded and we await the return of the next round of Premier League action. Mark Hughes will be hoping that the break will have done his Stoke team the world of good after a disappointing August which sees them sit bottom of the table, whilst Tottenham will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign ahead of their Champions League encounter with Monaco on Wednesday.
Stoke have not had the start they would have hoped for this term as the currently languish bottom of the table with just one point from their three games to date. An opening day draw with newly promoted Middlesbrough was not a bad result, all told, especially as they fell behind in that match. Since then, however, it’s been rather dour for Hughes’ men as they have lost heavily at home to Manchester City before going down narrowly away to Everton. The 4-1 defeat against Pep Guardiola’s men was probably a touch unfortunate as they conceded two late goals on that occasion whilst the only goal at Goodison Park last time out was courtesy of a debatable penalty. In between those league games was a small ray of light as they cruised through to the next round of the League Cup after putting four past Stevenage. The visit of Tottenham will be another testing fixture, of course, but one which the manager will be looking to for a result in an effort to halt their poor start to the season.
This season has the potential to be an exciting one for Spurs on the back of their excellent effort last term. Their third place finish does not tell the whole story having been Leicester’s closest pursuers for most the of the campaign. Their reward for that was direct qualification to the Champions League and they will be hoping to progress from a group that contains CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen in addition to the aforementioned Monaco. Before they get their teeth sunk into that competition they have to be aiming for another positive result on Saturday as Spurs bid to keep pace with the early pacesetters, who are (ominously) both Manchester clubs and Chelsea. Five points from their first three games could be seen as somewhat disappointing considering their aspirations this term, but they remain unbeaten and there should be enough optimism for them going forward taking into account their performances. Their two draws have come against Everton and Liverpool with their sole win being the 1-0 win at home to Crystal Palace. Their attacking threat is not quite at the level where they would hope but it’s a similar story to their start last term when they struggled to convert a plethora of chances. Harry Kane will eventually find his scoring boots again and that will be crucial, but he will require more support from his team-mates, and the summer acquisition of Vincent Janssen should help the team on that front.
Hughes is always looking to improve the quality of player at his disposal and the summer was no different. Joe Allen was arguably his biggest capture as he convinced his fellow Welshman to make the switch from Liverpool in search for regular first team football. Allen was joined on deadline day by Bruno Martins Indi and Wilfried Bony – both of whom had proven quality, and the former will guarantee goals if replicating the form from his Swansea days. As well as integrating those additions, the manager also has to find a way to get those players who have been key performers in the past more productive again. Bojan, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri have struggled for form of late and lack the consistency required to keep Stoke at the other end of the table, but on their day they can be match winners and Hughes will be looking to them to be just that on Saturday.
Kane’s lacklustre start to the season was evident when the striker was on England duty last weekend and very little came off for him. He was out of sorts during the summer’s European Championships as well, of course, and it could be that the amount of football he has played over the last two years is beginning to catch up with him. Having notched 46 league goals over that time, it’s easy to see just how important a player he is for Spurs and when he’s not at the top of his game it impacts massively on their results. Kane’s last competitive goal came back at the start of May against Chelsea, but before anyone goes overboard, his first league goal of last season didn’t come until the end of September so it’s not time to panic just yet. As I have alluded to earlier though, his team-mates have to be weigh in with goals at these precise times if Spurs are to be challenging again.
Stoke v Tottenham Betting Tips
Although the Britannia is often seen as a difficult place for visiting teams to pick up points that has not been the experience of Tottenham. The team from North London have enjoyed their visits to Stoke for the most part – winning on three of their last four visits including one of their performances of the season back in April when cruising to a 4-0 success. A repeat of that would be the perfect preparation for Mauricio Pochettino’s men ahead of Wednesday’s European fixture.
Stoke have to improve on their performances to date if they are to take anything from Saturday’s game but the introduction of Bony should certainly help and will bring more of a focal point to their attack. They certainly do not lack creative options but the on-loan Ivorian will make them more of a threat and allows them to be more direct as well, at times. That said, Spurs are one of the best drilled teams in the division and can stand up to the physical nature of Stoke. Kane’s form is something of a concern but they possess plenty of quality and it’s only a matter of time before they click going forward. The visitors have yet to score more than one goal in a game this season but that may well be enough this weekend to allow them to secure their second win of the campaign.
Tottenham 7/8 @ Marathonbet
