Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

[Aidymac]

[TABLE=class: couponTable, width: 617] [TR=class: row1] [TD=class: firstColumn]Aston Villa v Stoke City (15:00 GMT)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.37[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.45[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.4[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.50 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

[assange58]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December IMO the books have to mad to make Villa favorites (even at home). Especially against this Stoke side which has hit a terrific run of form, going unbeaten in last 5 including 4 wins. Although they have trouble going forward, they are brilliant in defense, posting 7 clean sheets this year (in 15 games). Yes, Villa have made significant improvements since the beginning of the year with their defensive organization being a particular bright spot (and Benteke another). Nevertheless, they have only 2 home wins which came against Reading and Swans (back in Sept when they were crap). While I don't see this as an easy victory for Stoke (because of the scoring problems), I do see them having the ability to keep Villa goalless while getting at least one of their own. For me, then, odds like Stoke 0AH @ 2.25 (5dimes) are simply too good to be true. Just now looking at weekend fixtures, so will very likely give Unders a look here too.

[neilovan]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December Stoke are a very tough team to beat. At home they have drawn 5 of 7 1st half matches. Away they have drawn 4 of 8 1st halves. Really don't see much between the teams. Villa at home is equal to a slightly more sound stoke team away I will go for the ht draw and ft draw at odds of 15/4 on bet365 no big bet just 1 unit acumulator

[IAmGooner]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December Aston Villa vs Stoke UNDER 2.5 goals@ 8/11 (Stan James:3pts) Looks a really tight match on paper to me.Stoke generally do their best work at home, but can make life difficult away and keep it relatively tight. Got a great win at WBA last week 1-0 Villa have noticeably improved in recent weeks but I still dont see alot of goals in them. Benteke is a threat, Agbonlahor works hard but doesnt really score many. I think Stoke will be able to get their teeth into this match and make it tough on the Villans. Price is just at the limit for which I'd play it, any lower and I pass.

[Jase82]

It's hard to make a case for goals here and I agree the unders look the call. Villa have improved defensively, while Stoke will be tough to beat and as solid at the back as ever. I wouldn't personally look at Stoke's run of results too much as I wouldn't expect it to continue because they've been pushing results over the line. I can't see them continuing it much longer, and Villa will be tough. If rather back Stoke if they were above four, at present they are too short for me.

[sajtion]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December personally i think stoke is going to bully this aston villa side and although stoke don't score much they can add another victory here against a side that don't look like winning anytime soon

[Aidymac]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

personally i think stoke is going to bully this aston villa side and although stoke don't score much they can add another victory here against a side that don't look like winning anytime soon

They beat Reading only a week ago, and are unbeaten in 3, including a draw against Arsenal. Come on mate, your reasoning needs to improve, including the Sunderland/Chelsea thread.

[sajtion]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

They beat Reading only a week ago, and are unbeaten in 3, including a draw against Arsenal. Come on mate, your reasoning needs to improve, including the Sunderland/Chelsea thread.

ok so they beat reading only just by one goal and against arsenal they were quite intent to close the game off and take a draw out if it but arsenal could have beaten them had they not been so awful. i stand by my opinion that aston villa don't look like winning games and against stoke that are physically strong and much better defensibly focused i bet stoke gets better chance to score on the day

[notoriouspunter]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December under game of the year. Not much to say about their offensive capabilities. they depend on their striker upfront nicking in goals. Without a team attacking them going out for the win like Man u Villa looks harmless as they dont create much. I think benteke has a missmatch vs. the Stoke defence as they are athletic enough to stop him. Crouch is doubtfull but probably plays without some teeth I think both teams would be happy with a point beforehand which will lead to a cautios gameplay. Sure villa needs more points but they have not that good of a situation right now and every team knows falling back to stoke is a bad thing as they can shut up shop pretty good. So I dont expect either team opening up. When One scores the other one will try to stop and destroy the game. Vlaar might be out again but the quality in Villas defense is pretty even. Looking at h2h last 2 years it shows an even clearer picture... 10/10 under 3,5 @ 1,24 4/10 under 2,5 @1,6 2/10 under 1,5 @3,0 5/10 both teams to score? no @1,8

[blackcrow]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December Stoke @ 3.12 pinnacle Villa have shown some form of late as they have two draws and a win in their last three EPL games with two clean sheets which were both at home. They welcome a Stoke side that had a rare away win at West Brom last week, as they have four wins and a draw in their last five EPL games. They too have been hard to score against with three clean sheets in these games, and it will come down to which of these two sets of forwards can breach the other. Villa are missing Vilar in defence once again and have quite a bit of youth and inexperience back there, and can see the likes of Crouch and Jones causing them plenty of problems at the set pieces. Believe that Shawcross and Huth are good enough to stop Villa from scoring, so like Pulis to win another one here and edge forward to a top 6 spot.

[Jase82]

Aston Villa - 0.25 @ 2.15 - bet365. I'm sorry but I can't be having Stoke at below 3, which is where they are in some quarters. Kudos if you backed them at just above three but I personally think they're very poor value below four away from home. Unless the home side is genuinely that poor, or unless there are other mitigating circumstances. I think the key here is to predict the wins before they happen, and where Stoke are concerned they're being viewed as some unbeatable beast. Which isn't the case. They tend to force wins over the line by bullying teams into a losing position. That sort of tactic can only last so long before they inevitably concede first. If they score first they're great value to go on and get something from the game, but I just can't see how they can continue that sort of performance indefinitely. The unders are also pretty good value, even at 1.6. I don't expect this game to have more than a couple of goals as these games are usually quite tight, but Stoke haven't beaten Villa on their own patch yet in the EPL so I'm happy to back Villa here with some draw cover. I just can't have Stke at such a price because form is often very temporary, and I think there has been a slight overreaction in the market due to the fact Stoke have won heir last three games.

[wisey10]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December First Goalscorer: Steven NZonzi @ 26.00 Paddypower (0.5 points) Anytime Goalscorer: Steven NZonzi @ 11.00 PaddyPower (0.5 Points) Im not normally one to bet on this type of market but quite simply these prices are too big. And this is the reason: Charlie Adam has being playing in the hole behind Crouch and Pulis recently gave him instructions to stick close to Crouch to take advantage of any knock downs e.t.c This has paid off and Adam has managed to get a couple of goals in the last few games. But he is out suspended today and it looks like defensive midfielder Dean Whitehead will come in which will allow NZonzi to move forward and play in the hole where Adam usually plays. Effectively this is the second striker in our team. NZonzi has probably been our player of the season so far and he was an outstanding buy for 3m. The only negative has been that he has been playing in a defensive role yet he has shown glimpses of looking very good going forward. If NZonzi is handed that attacking role today as the second striker then these prices are simply too big. He's been priced up as a defensive midfielder who hasn't scored all season which is true. But that could change today. It's obviously a long shot but if my suspicions are correct of his role today, then the chances of him scoring are much better than the odds suggest.

[Ricochet]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December For me this has draw written all over it, and as people have already said I can't see many goals. 4 of the last 5 meetings have ended in a draw with only 1 of these going over 2.5 goals! Stoke are on a good run of form with 4 wins in their last 5 games but for me Villa have been improving and are starting to work as a unit. They have become a tough side to break down and I expect them to be able to cope with everything Stoke will throw at them. 10pts Draw @ 3.25 - SkyBet 5pts 0-0 @ 8.5 - BetFred 5pts 1-1 @ 6.5 - VictorChandler

[HeresTheKey]

Stoke @ 3.12 pinnacle Villa have shown some form of late as they have two draws and a win in their last three EPL games with two clean sheets which were both at home. They welcome a Stoke side that had a rare away win at West Brom last week, as they have four wins and a draw in their last five EPL games. They too have been hard to score against with three clean sheets in these games, and it will come down to which of these two sets of forwards can breach the other. Villa are missing Vilar in defence once again and have quite a bit of youth and inexperience back there, and can see the likes of Crouch and Jones causing them plenty of problems at the set pieces. Believe that Shawcross and Huth are good enough to stop Villa from scoring, so like Pulis to win another one here and edge forward to a top 6 spot.

I like this review very much but for all the above reasons + 1 i decided to bet on BTTS.I think Villa will score today, not just because they re desperate for points in their home, but also because they have 7 goals in their last 6 games at home, 2 of them against Man Utd BTTS @ 1,95 in sportingbet

[IAmGooner]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

Aston Villa vs Stoke UNDER 2.5 goals@ 8/11 (Stan James:3pts) Looks a really tight match on paper to me.Stoke generally do their best work at home, but can make life difficult away and keep it relatively tight. Got a great win at WBA last week 1-0 Villa have noticeably improved in recent weeks but I still dont see alot of goals in them. Benteke is a threat, Agbonlahor works hard but doesnt really score many. I think Stoke will be able to get their teeth into this match and make it tough on the Villans. Price is just at the limit for which I'd play it, any lower and I pass.

WIN Worked out pretty well, happy with that.

[Jase82]

Aston Villa - 0.25 @ 2.15 - bet365. I'm sorry but I can't be having Stoke at below 3, which is where they are in some quarters. Kudos if you backed them at just above three but I personally think they're very poor value below four away from home. Unless the home side is genuinely that poor, or unless there are other mitigating circumstances. I think the key here is to predict the wins before they happen, and where Stoke are concerned they're being viewed as some unbeatable beast. Which isn't the case. They tend to force wins over the line by bullying teams into a losing position. That sort of tactic can only last so long before they inevitably concede first. If they score first they're great value to go on and get something from the game, but I just can't see how they can continue that sort of performance indefinitely. The unders are also pretty good value, even at 1.6. I don't expect this game to have more than a couple of goals as these games are usually quite tight, but Stoke haven't beaten Villa on their own patch yet in the EPL so I'm happy to back Villa here with some draw cover. I just can't have Stke at such a price because form is often very temporary, and I think there has been a slight overreaction in the market due to the fact Stoke have won heir last three games.

Half void, half loss... Draw was probably the better choice in reflection, but unders was easily the call here... Well done all winners :clap

[altocirrus]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

under game of the year. Not much to say about their offensive capabilities. they depend on their striker upfront nicking in goals. Without a team attacking them going out for the win like Man u Villa looks harmless as they dont create much. I think benteke has a missmatch vs. the Stoke defence as they are athletic enough to stop him. Crouch is doubtfull but probably plays without some teeth I think both teams would be happy with a point beforehand which will lead to a cautios gameplay. Sure villa needs more points but they have not that good of a situation right now and every team knows falling back to stoke is a bad thing as they can shut up shop pretty good. So I dont expect either team opening up. When One scores the other one will try to stop and destroy the game. Vlaar might be out again but the quality in Villas defense is pretty even. Looking at h2h last 2 years it shows an even clearer picture... 10/10 under 3,5 @ 1,24 4/10 under 2,5 @1,6 2/10 under 1,5 @3,0 5/10 both teams to score? no @1,8

SPOT ON! We've got a jackpot winner here! :clap

[SpiritOfLisbon]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

For me this has draw written all over it, and as people have already said I can't see many goals. 4 of the last 5 meetings have ended in a draw with only 1 of these going over 2.5 goals! Stoke are on a good run of form with 4 wins in their last 5 games but for me Villa have been improving and are starting to work as a unit. They have become a tough side to break down and I expect them to be able to cope with everything Stoke will throw at them. 10pts Draw @ 3.25 - SkyBet 5pts 0-0 @ 8.5 - BetFred 5pts 1-1 @ 6.5 - VictorChandler

Superb stuff, well done mate.

[blackcrow]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

Stoke @ 3.12 :(.

38-75 (-25.30) Well done to those who got the unders and the draw

[notoriouspunter]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December

SPOT ON! We've got a jackpot winner here! :clap

I hate under bets usualy, I mean who hopes for no goals in a football game? ^^ and I **** my pants whenever the ball comes near the penalty area. But this time I just knew that there wont be any goals and if one then no goal will follow. check the bundesliga thread I got also the over game of the year

[thewillows]

Re: Aston Villa v Stoke City > Sat 8th December Never liked Stoke anyway ;)