31st Dec 2012 | Football
Manchester City v Stoke
The Potters are unbeaten in 10 and boast the best defence in the league.
With currently the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, best odds of 11/1 (BetVictor) on a famous victory for Stoke are definitely eye-catching. However, with such a miserable record at the Etihad, I must accept that the shock away win remains unlikely. On form a draw is definitely plausible though, and at best odds of 19/4 (BetVictor), I’ll go with that.
While the Potters haven’t tasted defeat in their last 10 outings (W5 D5), Man City have been playing below their best for several weeks now. With three wins in their last seven matches, the Blues only really looked like champions against Newcastle. They left it to the 92nd minute to beat Reading 1-0 and failed to win any of the three home matches before that in all competitions.
It’s not exactly the ‘fortress Etihad’ we grew accustomed to last season and Stoke are extremely capable of exploiting another off-day. Captain Ryan Shawcross and right-back Geoff Cameron return to bolster what is already the best defence in the division. A sharing of the spoils is distinctly possible at a great price.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 14:49 31st Dec, 2012 but subject to change
