11/1 are fat odds on a team to suffer relegation from the Premier League, but how tempting will it be to have a flutter on Stoke to take the drop? Those are the odds that online betting site Ladbrokes have placed on Mark Hughes’s men to suffer relegation this season, so why the appeal on a side who haven’t produced a terrible season so far?
The problem with Stroke is a lack of goals and a lack of wins on the board. The icing on the cake as to why they may be genuine relegation candidates is that they have been very poor on the road this term. Having only posted five wins from twenty games this season overall, isn’t a great record so far, and they are staring down the barrel of a difficult January fixture list, which could leave them floundering come the start of February.
The Potters have tough home games against Manchester United and Liverpool during January and then they have to go to Crystal Palace and Sunderland. It is those away games which could crucial in the long run for the Potters because they can’t afford to give up three points in matches against sides currently in the drop zone, not starting the month just five points clear of the drop zone.
While Stoke can frustrate opponents at the Britannia Stadium and scratch out points, they have managed just one win and two draws from ten away games this season. In those games they have only managed eight goals and have conceded at well over an average of two goals per game on their travels. So being such poor travellers this season, could well see the Potters sucked further and further into a relegation dogfight.
Of course you have to look at the comparative fixture lists for teams starting January beneath them, like Sunderland, Crystal Palace and West Ham, who are the three favourites to take the drop in Premier League relegation betting odds with Ladbrokes. Palace are 4/9 odds on favourites to get relegation, with the Black Cats at 8/15 and West Ham at 11/8.
