Stoke City Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Betting – Saturday 31st October

Stoke City Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Kick-off: Saturday 31st October – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The Brittania

Stoke City

League Position: 9th

Recent Form: DLDWW

I didn’t think I’d be saying this before the start of the week but Stoke City are gunning for their third win on the spin after stunning Tottenham and most of the country by scoring late on at White Hart Lane to steal all the spoils in a 1-0 victory. Stoke were 6/1 before kick-off to beat an ever improving Spurs so fair play to any of you who were on them as we certainly weren’t. However, will they become complacent as one of the weakest sides in the league come to The Brittania in a game were Stoke are firm favourites to bring home the bacon.

Stoke are already shaping up as an established Premiership club and we think it’s fair to say that their rustle bustle approach to their games will safely see them remain the top flight for at least another season. They may come unstuck against the big boys, although Saturday was an exception, but Stoke do have a consistent knack of beating the lesser sides in the league when they come a calling at The Brittania. Burnley, West Ham United & Sunderland are all victims of Stoke at The Brittania and we expect to Stoke to add Wolves to that list after the weekend is out.

Stoke are probably the only side outside the top 6 or so that can give any team in the league a run for their money at home. Chelsea & Manchester United may have claimed the scalp of Stoke at The Brittania in the early part of this season but the pair had to work mighty hard for it. They don’t give you any time on the ball, they harry you into making rash passes while they defend in numbers and certainly aren’t afraid to stick their bodies in where it might get hurt. Of course, they won’t be a favourite with the purists out there but you gotta love how they approach their game as, to them, it’s just business and how they won’t careless how they get their points, just that they do.

We are becoming a small fan of Stoke game by game. They remind me of an old fashioned pub team, a team with quality players at a premium but a proper womanlike unit. They battle tremendously hard to the final whistle and they often get their just rewards. We fancy they’ll reap the rewards in this encounter and wrap up not only their fourth win of the season but also their third victory on the bounce.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

League Position: 17th

Recent Form: WLLDD 

Another win less outing for Wolves at the weekend has now left desperately clinging on for dear life above the relegation zone. With Mick McCarthy’s side now without a win in four league games, Wolves now find themselves in a very precarious position, just a solitary point above Hull who occupy the first of three relegation spots. The club will be desperate to stay as far away from the bottom three as possible but only a win this Saturday would be enough to safely ensure they don’t end the weekend in the red.

Defeats against Sunderland (5-2) & Portsmouth (0-1), in combination with two successive draws with Everton & Aston Villa, both by a 1-1 scoreline, means Wolves are without a win in four games and their form heading into what looks to be a possible six pointer is far from ideal. Their performance on Saturday in their derby encounter with Villa was a million miles off being an impressive one although the 1-1 draw does look a very creditable result, indeed.

However, Wolves struggled in that game to fashion up any real quality in the final third and it took a rash tackle from Steve Sidwell to hand them a golden opportunity to level the match. Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, a player who stole the show in the Championship for Wolves last season, thumped home from the spot to score his first goal of the season after an injury ravaged start to the campaign. That strike should massively boost the kids confidence as he is a big character for Wolves and by far and their way their biggest goal threat.

Improvements are needed all round if Wolves are to end their mini baron run. Their defence still looks shaky, although Wayne Hennessey in the goal look a real talent for them. Their attack lacks any sort of off-the-ball movement, maybe Ebanks-Blake will provide them with that now he’s back playing in the thick of things. However, our biggest concern lies in their midfield. Michael Kightly might be the only exception, but the rest simply lack that cutting edge, that bit of spark and ingenuity to carve out regular goalscoring opportunities for what has been a goal-starved front line for Wolves. Mick McCarthy’s team have scored just nine goals this season, it’s not the lowest but it’s not too far off, either.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Stoke City W: 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers W: 3 Draws: 5

These two have never met before in a Premiership encounter but this did used to be a regular clash back in The Championship. Wolves do just edge the head-to-head counter but the draw looks a likely result with five of the last ten ending in a share of the spoils. In fact, the last two meetings at The Brittania both ended in a draw, both low scoring ones at that. 0-0 was the score the last time these two met in Stoke while the fans were treated to some rare goals the season before, the pair drawing 1-1.

Match Verdict:- Stoke City to WIN – 1.95 Expekt

Stoke are becoming a very consistent side, especially when it comes to beating the so called weaker opposition in the league. Wolves do create chances but they have struggled to convert them and they will get punished on Saturday if they don’t take them against a Stoke City side buoyed by their weekend victory over high-flying Tottenham Hotspur. The Brittania crowd often drives Stoke to three points and we can see the same happening here. They’re a big threat from set-pieces, have an out-an-out striker in Jamea Beattie and don’t concede too many goals. Tony Pulis has built a very solid Stoke side and we expect Stoke to overcome a poor Wolves side.

Match Odds:

Stoke City – 1.95 Expekt

Draw – 3.4 Coral

Wolverhampton Wanderers – 4.5 SkyBet

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Stoke City to WIN to NIL – 3.4 totesport

 Update: The result of Stoke vs Wolves was 2-2 (Elokobi (og), Etherington for Stoke and Craddock (2) for Wolves)