English Premier
2011-10-15 - Stoke City vs Fulham
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 15 October 2011 - Kickoff 3pm
Stoke City
Tony Pulis was not happy with the referee after their loss in South Wales against Swansea last time out and he must also have been disappointed with the lack of goals that his side have been scoring in the League this season.
Stoke are 8th in the Premier League, picking up 9 points from what has looked a tough fixture list in their opening 7 games of the season. They have a 1-2-0 record at the Brittania Stadium, scoring 2 goals and conceding 1, but that looks good when considering they have played Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.
The team have been making progress in the Carling Cup and in the Europa League this season, but recent results in the League will have been a concern. They were beaten comfortably at Sunderland and Swansea, but the Brittania remains a tough place to visit. Stoke are unbeaten in all 7 games at home in all competitions this season.
Pulis has a few injury concerns in the squad ahead of this game with Wilson Palacios, Marc Wilson, Matthew Etherington and Salif Diao all doubtful. There is hope that Kenwyn Jones will be back this week.
Fulham
A few rumours were floating around that the players were not impressed with the Martin Jol method of managing, and the bad start made to the new season seemed to highlight that. However, they have since picked up a bit of form and would have been disappointed the international break came after they beat QPR 6-0 at home.
That was actually Fulham's first win of the season and moved them up to 12th place in the Premier League after improving their points tally to 7. They have compiled a 1-4-2 record in the League, but it is the away form that continues to let them down where they are 0-1-2, scoring 1 goal and conceding 4.
Fulham are unbeaten in 7 games in all competitions and went into the break with 2 wins in a row, both coming alongside a clean sheet. Fulham have actually gained 4 clean sheets in a row in all competitions, 3 of those coming away from Craven Cottage. They are unbeaten in their last 3 away games, but had lost 3 in a row before that.
Aaron Hughes should return to the squad for this game but Phillipe Senderos is likely to be missing. Simon Davies is out, but Martin Jol has a full squad to choose from otherwise.
Head to Head
Fulham won both League games against Fulham last season, winning both 2-0.
Stoke did beat Fulham 2-0 in the Carling Cup here, and they also beat Fulham in the League here the season before last.
Interestingly, one or both of these sides have failed to score in 8 of their last 9 meetings against one another.
Prediction
This is a tough game to predict between two hard working teams that can find it hard to score the goals that would push them even higher up the table.
Fulham have annually struggled on their travels in the Premier League and this season has proven to be no different with only 1 goal scored in 3 League games. On the other hand, Stoke have been very strong in defence at home against some of the better teams in the League.
Stoke themselves could be missing a big piece of their attacking threat if Matthew Etherington is missing, which is looking more and more likely as the week progresses, and that would significantly reduce their own goal threat.
The fact that 8 of the last 9 games between the sides have seen a lack of goals being scored has meant I have focused on those markets. The 'Under 2.5 Goals' has been priced up very short, so I am going to have an interest in the 'Both Teams NOT to Score' market, a winner so often when they play one another.
With both sides not having it easy to score goals, the 1.83 is appealing enough for me to have a go.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Stoke City 1-0 Fulham
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Both Teams NOT to Score @ 1.83 (Stan James)
