Stoke City V Arsenal Betting: Saturday, 27th February (SKY SPORTS)

Stoke City V Arsenal

Saturday, 27^th February – 17:30 GMT (Sky Sports 1)

Stoke City

League Position: 11th

Recent Form: DWDDW

Tony Pulis must feel he’s the best manager in the world as he just can’t stop beating Arsenal at The Brittania. The Potters may have lost both their encounters with Arsenal at The Emirates, one coming earlier in the season in the form of a 2-0 lose, but Stoke boast a 100% home record against Arsenal in all competitions, even earning another surprise victory against The Gunners earlier in the year in the FA Cup. Tony Pulis really does know how to throw a spanner in the Arsenal works with his tactiful genius, but will he be able to produce another masterpiece by making it three from from against Arsenal at The Brittania this Saturday?

We’re sure Tony Pulis will keep muttering that old adage ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ as he looks to set Stoke up in the same formation and set up that has beaten Arsenal two games on the spin at home. If this is to be the case then Stoke will get in their faces, closing Arsenal down at every opportunity whilst playing for set-plays when they do stride forward. Pulis doesn’t even need to do his homework as he knows just where to hurt Arsenal, and that’s in their defence from crosses. William Gallas isn’t a certainty to feature on Saturday so an unconvincing Sol Campbell, at the ripe old age of 35 (Yikes!) will probably start in the heart of the Arsenal defence alongside Thomas Vermealen, whom has actually been a very good signing for The Gunners this season. However, both managed to thwart Stoke’s aerial prowess when the two teams last met in a competitive fixture, that being Stoke’s 3-1 victory in the FA Cup, so Stoke will look to capitalise on an exposed defence frailties.

Stoke couldn’t of gone into this exciting fixture with better form after extending their unbeaten run in the league to seven after their flabbergasting win at Fratton Park last weekend. Stoke won a surprisingly exciting encounter with Portsmouth 2-1 by virtue of a last gasp Salif Diao strike. The Senegalese first goal in somewhere around seven years. That goal typified just how Stoke work in that every single one of them chip in with a match winning effort or goal. Diao’s winners down on the South coast was Stoke’s twelfth different goalscorer this season, with no-one in the Stoke squad even close to surpassing the five goal marker et alone reaching double figures.

We expect more of the same from Stoke, strong tackles, plenty of balls over the top and yet more danger from set-pieces. They are the most awkward team to play against in the league, perhaps even England, and you won’t find manager in the land that enjoys facing a robust and resilient Stoke City. Even the likes of Chelsea and Man Utd have struggled at The Brittania this season, although the defining difference being the pair both scraped out vital victories. Can Arsenal be the third ‘Top Four’ side this season to break Stoke hearts or will The Potters voodoo over The Gunners live on with another home win?

Arsenal

League Position: 3rd

Recent Form: DLLWW

This really is a fixture Arsene Wenger must dread nowadays on the football calender; a trip to The Brittania. Recently alone, Arsenal have been foiled by The Potters on Stoke territory, with Stoke producing one of the shocks of the season last year to win 2-0 in an encounter which really shook the Gunners, while more recently, Arsenal swiftly exited the FA Cup at the hands of Stoke City when losing 3-1 at The Brittania only last month. It’s a fixture The Gunners have drawn blanks in on recent attempts but it’s one Arsenal have no option but to win as anything else could leave them further trailing to leading duo at the top of the Premier League table. 

There is no getting away from it, this, as well as every fixture from now till the end of the season, is a must win game if Arsenal want to keep their name in the frame for the league title. Arsenal simply cannot afford to fall yet more points off the pace currently set by Chelsea. The Gunners, whom have now won back-to-back games in the league after two successive home victories over Liverpool and Sunderland, are six points behind Chelsea and could fall a further three if they don’t earn a well earned set of three points at The Brittania this Saturday.

Arsene Wenger won’t contemplate defeat as he knows it would prove costly, but he’s also aware that victory at The Brittania isn’t impossible especially as both Chelsea and Manchester United have won there this season. However, every side has a ‘bogey’ team and Arsenal’s is definitely Stoke City because the Gunners just can’t handle the ‘rustle & approach’ from Stoke. This Arsenal squad boasts some technically gifted players, some of the sleekest players on the planet, but the one thing they do lack is players with an abundance of strength and height, with Sol Campbell being about the only candidate with both and yet he’s nearly past it. It’s a major concern as it’s a proven fact that Arsenal cannot handle Stoke’s physical approach to games, it just rubs them up the wrong way and it’s even more alarming that one of the smartest tacticians in the game, Arsene Wenger, hasn’t come across a tactic or method to nullify Stoke’s main asset; their aerial prowess.

On the plus side on things, Arsenal should be in a confident mood when travelling to The Brittania stadium after two wins on the bounce. Victories over Liverpool (1-0) and Sunderland (2-0) were both made more impressive by two clean sheets and this should breathe some new found belief into an Arsenal defence which has not only struggled to compete with Stoke’s physical style in recent meetings but also against all the other teams in the league, with The Gunners defence not as strong and reliable as it once was. However, this is their first away outing since losing 2-0 at Chelsea so it remains to be seen how Arsenal will fare in their very next away outing, which is this trip to Stoke. The return of Nicklas Bendtner is a huge boost for Wenger as Arsenal were severely lacking numbers up front, although Cesc Fabregas has gone off the boil in recent weeks so perhaps a big performance is needed from their little Spanish maestro if Arsenal are to end their Brittania voodoo this Saturday.

Match Verdict: Stoke City to WIN – 5.50 SkyBet

Arsene Wenger still doesn’t have the players at his disposal to deal with Stoke’s aerial threat; tall, strong and good in the air, the attributes a defender needs to nullify Stoke’s aerial prowess – How can we back Arsenal when they look so exposed at the back? Moreover, they haven’t been playing great of late and were somewhat fortunate that Sunderland fluffed their lines on Saturday, else Arsene Wenger could have been left ruing yet more dropped points. Fortunately for Arsenal fans, your team got lucky, but we don’t think they’ll be as fortunate at The Brittania, a venue where Arsenal have lost on their previous two visits. The Potters have built up an impressive seven match unbeaten run, albeit just three were victories, but they know Arsenal’s flaws and have shown us on two occasions that they know how to exploit these weak spots in the Arsenal side. We have every faith in Tony Pulis and fancy Stoke to expose then exploit Arsenal#s weaknesses once again on Saturday as they set out to complete a stunning hat-trick of home wins against the Gunners.

Match Odds:

Stoke City – 5.50 SkyBet

Draw – 3.60 Bet365

Arsenal – 1.73 PaddyPower

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Stoke City to Score Two or More – 3.60 PaddyPower