Stoke City V Portsmouth Betting

Stoke City V Portsmouth

Kick-off: Sunday 22nd November – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The Reebok

TV Coverage: Sky Sports 1

Stoke City

League Position: 9th

Recent Form: DWWDL

Stoke fans will be proud of their current top ten status but will require another victory from their side to guarantee at least another week in the upper tier of the table. A home fixture with Portsmouth looks a fabulous opportunity to do just that but will the stunning comeback from Wolves in Stoke’s previous home fixture have knocked the confidence out of the players? They did follow that home disappointment up with a defeat at Hull City so perhaps that draw did have a psychological affect on the camp.

We briefly touched on Stoke’s last home encounter against Wolves, a game where Stoke appeared to have to three points wrapped up at half-time only to see their two goal advantage cancelled out in the second half. A 2-0 lead over one of the poorest sides in the league in Wolves, would have been more than enough for most sides to hold out for all the spoils. However, Stoke failed to do so and with that draw it not only ended a run of two straight wins but also sent them head first into their first defeat in four away at Hull, losing 2-1.

Stoke were previously on a four match unbeaten run before the trip to Hull and that defeat just might have knocked the stuffing out of them, although, Stoke have lost on three other occasions this season and have yet to follow either up with another defeat. In fact, coincidence possibly, but Stoke have always bounced back from defeat with a draw the game after. Three times that has happened this season so perhaps a familiar pattern is forming.

At home, Stoke have generally been pretty good this season. They have suffered two defeats at The Brittania already but those have come against the two early pacesetters in Manchester United (0-2) & Chelsea (1-2). Stoke played extremely well in both, especially against Chelsea, in which they concede a late 96^th minute Malouda goal. Burnley (2-0), Sunderland (1-0) & West Ham (2-0) have all succumbed to the Stoke City sword at The Brittania so will Portsmouth become one of an unwanted list of victims?

Portsmouth

League Position: 20th

Recent Form: WLDWL

Pompey were shaping up as one of the worst teams to have participate in a Premiership season after losing their opening seven league fixtures. However, Paul Hart has put on his Houdini hat and sparked a Portsmouth revival, with Pompey picking up seven points from their last five games. That’s one heck-of-a improvement on their early season form which seen them pick up a huge nothing from seven.

Paul Hart is still having to pick up from what is a Championship looking side on paper, but he is chipping away at the points deficit. Portsmouth are now just four points off safety and a win away at Stoke would not only give them a welcome points boost but also a huge lift in confidence as not many of the smaller sides in the league go to Stoke and beat them on their own patch.

Portsmouth did manage a respectable point at The Brittania last season, with the pair playing out an exciting 2-2 draw. However, with Stoke’s defence normally ship-tight at home, and Portsmouth offensive record still as shabby as ever, a 2-2 draw this time around really would be a turn up for the books. Pompey have yet to hit the two goal marker in an away fixture this season, scoring just the one at Arsenal (4-1), Wolves (0-1) & Blackburn (3-1), two of which ended in defeat. Three times the Portsmouth attacks have found nothing, with Pompey failing to score on their travels in three out of six away outings, a 50% failure to score average.

Head-to-Head:

Stoke City W: 0 Portsmouth W: 1 Draws: 1

It’s the Southerner’s who edge the Head-to-Head after winning on their own patch last season, 2-1. Stoke did manage to knick a point in the reverse meeting, drawing 2-2 at The Brittania, although, they will be expecting all three points this time around, what would be their first set of three points against Portsmouth.

Both meetings finished with sufficient goals if you are an Over 2.5 Goals backer, so perhaps another goal glut could be on the cards.

Match Verdict:- Draw – 3.40 Bet365

If we had to pick a winner then our vote would certainly go the way of Stoke City. Portsmouth have shown next to nothing in their away outings thus far, even in their victory with Wolves at Molineux, a game where they rode their luck to record their solitary away win of the season. Stoke, however, have beaten all but the best sides in the league at The Brittania, so there credentials for the win are obviously high. However, Stoke’s failure to hold onto a 2-0 lead against Wolves last time out at The Brittania has severely put us off and with Portsmouth showing signs of a recovery in form, the draw looks a pretty safe prediction.

Match Odds:

Stoke City – 2.10 totesport

Draw – 3.40 Bet365

Portsmouth – 3.75 PaddyPower

SoccerBetting Value Tip: 1-1 Correct Score – 7.00 Boylesports

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Full-Time: Stoke City 1-0 Portsmouth

Goalscorer(s): Ricardo Fuller (Stoke City)