Tony Pulis must be looking enviously at Manchester United’s squad (well, don’t all managers!). The guy who scored twice on Tuesday doesn’t even get so much as a look-in! Fresh from his heroics at Elland Road, Michael Owen looks likely to be rested, with Wayne Rooney and Chicharito Hernandez resuming their places up-front. With Macheda, Diouf and Welbeck all snapping at Owen’s heels, and Berbatov yet to start a Premier League game all season, Owen might be lucky to even make the bench!
There were some other accomplished performances for the Reds against Leeds, but it looks like Sir Alex Ferguson will stick with the team who out-battled and out-scored Chelsea last week. Hernandez was a worry after being given a kick for his troubles by nasty Ashley Cole, but seems to have recovered sufficiently to be included.
One man who should regain his first team spot is Rio Ferdinand. Having come through his most recent fitness test unscathed it looks like Rio will start in the centre, probably alongside Jonny Evans, though with the form and ability on show by both Chris Smalling and Phil Jones it will be difficult to pick which one should sit out. Vidic is still a few weeks away.
Stoke have been in good form recently, with a win against Liverpool and a draw against Chelsea at home already this season. They are tough-tackling, with a solid midfield and a bustling front-line, and are at their most dangerous in set-piece situations, when the tall defenders and strikers can really attack the ball – David de Gea had better watch out!
RESULT BET
It’s difficult to guess how many goals we’re going to score – when we can tonk Arsenal for 8 and Chelsea for 4, anything could happen! Stoke were undone 4-0 by Sunderland last week, so Rooney and enrandez should be licking their lips. In fairness, that was a bit of a freak result, and we certainly expect their defending to be better on Saturday night! United are at 1.55 to win (with Paddy Power), which is worth a punt. We think the score will be something like 4-1 (26/1) but we’ll only stick a quid or two on that one!
BEST BET
It all depends on how you see the match going. We can see another early United goal, so it makes sense to bet on them to be leading at both half-time AND full-time. You can get odds of upto 2.3 with Bet Clic and it has to be worth a punt, especially with the way we’ve been flying out of the blocks recently.
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What are your betting tips? Let us know below :)