Stoke v Aston Villa Tips

The televised offering on Boxing Day looks an unlikely classic as goal-shy Villa head to the Brittania Stadium. Stoke have rebuilt their fortress after a little autumn wobble and deservedly line-up as 20/21 (StanJames) favourites. Defeat at leaders Man City ended a fine four-game winning run that included away success at Everton and Wolves and a victory that ended Spurs’ long unbeaten run.

In contrast, it’s been a difficult stretch for Alex McLeish with Villa winning just one of their last six, only scoring in two of those encounters. The Scot will be desperate to see talisman Darren Bent return from injury, although the England striker is yet to score away from Villa Park this season at any rate.

However, in fairness to Villa, they have had a tough run of games with Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd all cropping up in the last three home outings. McLeish can rightly argue that his side are rarely beaten resoundingly, and draws are comfortably the most common outcome on the road.

This game looks likely to be another tight one and Bet365 offer temptation with 12/5 on there being under two goals in the match. I can’t really envisage the Potters losing this one, so our number of likely scorelines can be reduced down still further. Stoke are 7/1 (Ladbrokes) to win 1-0 but with Villa’s resolve on their travels, the 0-0 draw looks top value at 10/1 with Skybet.