English Premier
2012-05-13 - Stoke City vs Bolton Wanderers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 13 May 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Stoke City
It has been a very long season for a small squad that Tony Pulis has at his disposal as Stoke City had decent runs in the three Cup competitions they entered as well as ensuring they retained their Premier League status for another season. They have begun to look like a side that may be looking forward to a well-earned break, although still proving to be a tough nut to crack for those who may need the points a lot more.
Stoke are 14th in the Premier League and this is the lowest position they can finish, while they can reach 11th if they win and other results go their way on the final day of the season. The team have a solid 7-7-4 record at the Brittania Stadium this season, scoring 23 goals and conceding 18.
They have won just 1 of their last 11 games in all competitions and even that came against relegated Wolves at home. Stoke are unbeaten in their last 6 home games in all competitions, although they have now drawn 3 of their last 4 here in the Premier League. Those draws have come against Manchester City, Arsenal and Everton, all teams that had been in decent nick.
Marc Wilson looks set to miss out with the injury he sustained against QPR last weekend. Andy Wilkinson and Jermaine Pennant both look set to join the squad and be available for selection.
Bolton Wanderers
This is a huge game for Bolton Wanderers after a poor run of form has left them in the final relegation place on the final day of the season. They have a vastly inferior goal difference compared with QPR and Aston Villa and they are in a position where anything less than a win would see them go down to the Championship regardless of what happens elsewhere.
They are 18th in the Premier League with 35 points earned and that leaves them 2 points behind QPR and 3 points behind Aston Villa. It would take a remarkable couple of results for Bolton to finish above Villa and even a win in this game is unlikely to be enough if QPR manage to get a result at Manchester City. Bolton bring in a 6-1-11 record away from home into this game, scoring 21 goals and conceding 36 in those games.
Bolton have won just 1 of their last 7 Premier League games to fall back into the relegation zone and they have only earned 7 points from the 21 that were available in those games. They have lost just 1 of their last 4 away games in the Premier League and they have won 2 of those games in that time at Aston Villa and Wolves while also earning a 2-2 draw with Sunderland.
Nigel Reo-Coker, Darren Pratley and Mark Davies are all doubtful, but surely will push themselves for this massive game their club is involved in. Gretar Steinsson looks set to be unavailable again.
Head to Head
Bolton Wanderers beat Stoke City 5-0 at the Reebok Stadium earlier this season, although that game did come after an away game in the Europa League for Stoke.
Stoke beat Bolton 2-0 here in the League last season and have won 2 of their 3 home games against them since returning to the top flight. Bolton won the other of those a couple of seasons ago.
Prediction
I have a feeling that Bolton Wanderers will give themselves every chance to survive in the Premier League this season by winning this game and then forcing QPR to earn a result at the Etihad Stadium in their game.
Stoke City are a solid team and have shown pride in their end of season performances by forcing results against Arsenal and Everton here and they were only beaten by a last minute goal at QPR last weekend in a game that meant a lot more to the home team than it did to Stoke.
However, they have struggled towards the end of the season in the last three seasons they have been in the Premier League, including losing 0-1 to Wigan Athletic last season that kept the Latics in the Premier League. The season before that, they actually lost to Bolton in their penultimate home game.
Bolton have also been a much more effective team away from home than they have been at the Reebok Stadium and have beaten all the teams that are residing in the bottom 6 and are capable of adding an unmotivated Stoke to that list. At 2.90, I'll take my chances that they will give themselves a chance to survive in the top flight.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Stoke City 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
