Stoke City V West Ham United – Saturday 17th October

Kick-off: Saturday 17^th October – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The Brittania Stadium

Stoke City

League Position: 11th

Recent Form: WLDLD

Stoke are another side that won’t have been affected by the International break as much as others, with just Liam Lawrence, Thomas Sorensen and Tuncay, actually heading off to play for their country over the previous fortnight. That’s a huge relief for manager Tony Pulis as he can ill afford any injuries to crucial players with his squad already wafer thin as it is. However, Tony Pulis has done a tremendous job grinding out results with the bare basics that he has available to him although his squad has hit a rocky patch at current, with the Potters now without a win in the league in four outings.

Stoke’s recent fixture list has consisted of some big sides though in two visits of Chelsea & Manchester United, both resulting in defeats for Stoke, whilst they were the visitors themselves when they faced Bolton & Everton, earning valuable and creditable draws against both. However, although their recent defeats at home were against two of the biggest sides in the league, Stoke have now gone two games without registering a point at home and that will only hinder the mood of the camp.

However, with the exception of the visits from Chelsea & Man Utd, Stoke have yet to concede a goal at The Brittania, keeping two successive clean sheets at home to Burnley & Sunderland. Hardly world beaters but West Ham are pretty much the same standard as them and we will take great confidence from what normally is a fortress for Stoke City – The Brittania stadium.

West Ham United

League Position: 19^th

Recent Form: DLLLD

Gianfranco Zola welcomed back a few of his first teamers slightly earlier than planned this week as Robert Green, James Tomkins, Junior Stanislas, Zavon Hines & Guille Franco all returned to training ahead of Saturday’s trip to Stoke. Some of West Ham’s key players will now be a lot fresher then the management initially planned and this will provide Zola with more options on Saturday, which should be a big plus point for any potential Hammers backer.

However, now the negatives, and there are a few. Not only are West Ham without a win since the start of the season, seven league outings ago, but just five points from a possible 21 has left the Hammers floundering near the foot of the table in 19^th position, just two points above a Portsmouth side that had previously lost seven games on the trot. It’s been West Ham home form which has particularly let them down thus far, with the West Ham fans yet to see their side actually win a home fixture this season. The Hammers only victory thus far came on their travels in the form of a 2-0 win at Wolves, another side struggling for form.

We didn’t think it would happen at the start but West Ham are increasingly become a team in trouble, with points hard to come by let alone actual victories. They’ve lost three of their last four games while they were mighty lucky to take a point in their most recent outing at home to Fulham, drawing 2-2. Confidence could be the root to the problem but that will only change for the better once results go their way and we can’t see them securing the three points they crave this Saturday.

Head-to-Head:

Stoke City W: 0 West Ham United W: 2 Draws: 0

The pair met for the very first time last season and it was West Ham who claimed all the spoils, beating The Potters both home and away. However, both came by the slimmest of margins, with West Ham winning 2-1 at Upton Park and narrowly edging out Stoke 1-0 at The Brittania.

Over 2.5 Goals: 1 Under 2.5 Goals: 1

The Brittania crowd doesn’t really get to see a lot of goals, with Stoke liking to keep it very tight whenever anyone comes a calling. The last clash at the home of Stoke City finished 1-0 in favour of West Ham. It was an evenly contested match back then, we don’t see this one being any different.

Key Player:- Carlton Cole

Cole didn’t enjoy the best of games for England when he came on as a second half sub against Ukraine, producing very little in his short spell. However, he has become one of the key players at a limited West Ham, and his goals this season will be crucial in how West Ham fare this term. The Hammers don’t posses very many prolific forwards, if any to be honest, and the main bulk of goals is expected to come from their tall, strong English centre-forward. Carlton has bagged four goals this season, a decent enough start, but fans will be wanting more from a striker that has high ambitions of going to South Africa next summer with his country.

Match Verdict: Draw – 23/10 Bet365

It would take a brave punter to separate these two, despite West Ham possessing a 100% record over the Potters after two Premiership clashes. We actually fancy Stoke do most the pressing, with West Ham looking to attack a Stoke defence which has wobbled of late, conceding four goals in two home games. However, they were against Chelsea and Man United so West Ham will have their work cut out if they want to break down a generally tight Stoke rearguard. Stoke will be hoping their aerial prowess will bring them goals as West Ham don’t have the tallest of defenders.

Match Odds:

Stoke City – 23/20 WilliamHill

West Ham United – 13/5 SkyBet

Draw – 23/10 Bet365

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Under 2.5 Goals – 4/6 PaddyPower