Europa League
2011-08-18 - Thun vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : European Europa League
Thursday 18 August 2011 - Kickoff 6:30pm (BST)
Thun
Thun are sure to provide a tough test for Stoke City who travel to Switzerland with the complaints of Tony Pulis being heard all across the Alps. Pulis is upset at the fact that this first leg will be played on an artificial surface after failing to convince UEFA to get the tie moved to a venue with a grass pitch, and now Thun will look to get an advantage to bring to England next week.
This is actually Thun's first involvement in the Europa League in its new format and they last played in this competition in 2006. They have not lost any of their 3 home games in that time, and had an impressive win over Palermo of Italy in the last Round to move forward. Thun and Palermo drew here 1-1 following a 2-2 draw in Italy.
They also currently lead the Swiss top flight after recording 3 wins from their opening 5 games and they remain unbeaten. Thun are 2-1-0 at home in the League this season although they had a slightly disappointing 5-8-5 record at home last season.
Thun are unbeaten in their last 7 competitive home games and they have actually won 5 of those games.
I have no team news for the Swiss side.
Stoke City
As I have already said, Tony Pulis is extremely unhappy that his side have to play this match on an artificial surface, and he must be worried having seen Tottenham struggle at a similar stage last season when they visited Young Boys in the Champions League.
Stoke have already enjoyed a 2-0 aggregate win over Hajduk Split in the last Round, winning both ties 1-0, and they will feel bullish about their chances of doing well in the competition. It will be interesting to see how they handle playing in the Europa League and whether they will play a strong team on every occasion, although it is injuries that are taking their toll for tonight.
The Potters have not exactly been known for their form away from the very loud Brittania Stadium and I am sure the fans will be expecting to get their better results at home. Stoke finished with a 3-3-13 away record in the Premier League last season and no other team lost more games on their travels.
The win over Hajduk Split in the last Round was only Stoke's 2nd away from home in their last 10 competitive games.
Tony Pulis is likely to rest Jonathan Woodgate and give Matthew Upson his debut tonight. Matthew Etherington is out, while Jermaine Pennant and Rory Delap are unlikely to be risked after picking up knocks in the weekend draw with Chelsea.
Prediction
I actually think this is a tougher game for Stoke than many expect, and we all saw how players can struggle to adapt to the artificial surfaces in recent matches involving England and Spurs when visiting Russia and Young Boys respectively.
Stoke will also be missing 2 of their influential creative forces in Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant and I think they may struggle for goals here.
I think Tony Pulis will be happy to get back to England with a draw in his pocket, but I have a feeling they may be disappointed and could suffer a close loss.
With a few regular first team players missing, and the need to adapt to play on an artificial surface, we could see Thun taking a small lead to England next week and I will have a small interest on that happening.
The Pick :
Thun 2-1 Stoke City
