English Premier
2012-09-22 - Chelsea vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 22 September 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Chelsea
Chelsea blew the opportunity to open their Champions League campaign with a win after throwing away a 2 goal lead against Juventus on Wednesday night, but now they have to focus on the Premier League. They have admitted some disappointment from the result on Wednesday, but Chelsea can open up a gap on their nearest rivals who all play on Sunday.
The team are top of the Premier League having picked up 10 points from a possible 12 and they have won both games at Stamford Bridge while scoring 6 goals and conceding 2. That leaves the Blues 1 point clear of Manchester United in 2nd and they will want a positive result in this one to take into the game against Arsenal a week on Saturday.
After opening up the League campaign with 3 straight wins, Chelsea have failed to win any of their last 3 in all competitions, drawing their last 2. Chelsea have only lost 1 of their last 18 games in all competitions at Stamford Bridge and they have won 8 of their last 11 at home in the League.
Marko Marin may be back in the squad for this game after a recent injury, while Daniel Sturridge is a doubt after missing the game against Juventus during the week.
Stoke City
Stoke City were a popular choice by the experts for a team that could potentially fall through the Premier League trapdoor this season, but they have shown some real character in the early portion of this season to suggest they will be surviving yet again. However, Tony Pulis will want his side to start winning games, rather than avoiding losing, sooner rather than later.
They are 12th in the Premier League table and remain unbeaten, although they have only earned 4 points from their 4 games this season. Stoke have also suffered a Capital One Cup loss at home to Swindon Town, after extra time, while they have drawn their away games at Reading and Wigan Athletic.
Stoke have actually drawn 8 of their last 9 games in all competitions going back to last season, although they have failed to win in any of their last 11 games. They have also failed to win in any of their last 11 away games in the Premier League, losing 6 of those games and only scoring 6 goals in that span.
Jamie Ness could be back in the squad, but Andy Wilkinson is suspended following his elbow on Mario Balotelli last week which was retrospectively punished. Tony Pulis has an otherwise full squad to choose from.
Head to Head
Chelsea and Stoke City played two tight games in the Premier League last season with Chelsea winning here 1-0 while the game at the Brittania Stadium finished goalless.
Chelsea have beaten Stoke in all 5 home games in all competitions since Stoke returned to the top flight.
Prediction
I was a little surprised to see Chelsea being priced up as high as they are, especially considering Stoke City's performances away from home against the 'bigger' clubs in the Premier League.
If this game was at the Brittania Stadium, I would fancy Stoke to avoid defeat, but at Stamford Bridge I think it is a different story.
I did consider taking Chelsea on the Asian Handicap to win by at least a couple of goals, but the last couple of games between the two were tight ones and there is a possibility that the home side win by exactly one goal.
Instead, I will take Chelsea to 'win to nil' which has been the situation in each of the last 4 games between the teams at Stamford Bridge.
Stoke have also scored just 4 goals in the 9 games between the sides since they have returned to the top flight so the 2.25 being offered by Coral looks worth chancing that Chelsea manage to keep a clean sheet on the road to victory again.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Chelsea 2-0 Stoke City
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Chelsea Win to Nil @ 2.25 (Coral)
