English FA CUP
2007-01-27 - Fulham vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
Let's start the weekends preview by trying to pick a shock result - and I think that Stoke City could be well worth a sneaker tenner.FULHAM
(Prem ::: 15th ::: L6 = D-D-D-D-D-D)
Fulham are not playing too badly at the moment but they're not winning either and with 6 draws in a row in the Premier League they're in 15th place in the table. Home draws to lowly Watford (0-0) and West Ham (0-0), underline their patchy form.
In the 3rd round, Fulham drew 2-2 at Championship team Leicester City and then were actually losing 1-3 in the replay here at Craven Cottage before Roma loan player Vincent Montella changed the game.
The league is the priority for Fulham - Premiership survival is a must - and I'll point out that little Wycombe Wanderers won here in the Carling Cup this season.
STOKE CITY
(Champ ::: 6th ::: L6 = W-L-W-D-L-W)
In comparison Stoke City are having a much better time of it in the championship and they'll come into this game in a reasonable run of form having won 9 of their last 15 league games.
Stoke have also been flashing a bit of cash during the transfer window too, with of Premiership players trio Salif Diao, Dominic Matteo and Andy Griffin in all being signed in the last few days.
THE VERDICT
Ranking these teams according to the tables there is just a handful of places between them.
And we've seen over the last few seasons the gap between the bottom of the Premier League and the top of the Championship is not that great with several clubs boomeranging between the two leagues.
I can see Stoke City earning a replay - and maybe going one better.
The Pick :
Fulham 1-1 Stoke City
