The FC Chelsea might be at the top of the English Premier League at the moment, but there are still plenty of games to be played before the end of the 2016/2017 season. With that in mind, now it seems like the perfect time of the year for Tottenham, Manchester City, and others to try to close the gap and catch up with the Blues. The first chance for these teams to win some points comes this week, with the round 28th of the Premier League on schedule. The round will kick-off with the midweek matchup between the Manchester City who will host the Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium. The game is scheduled for Wednesday March 8th, with the kick-off at 9 PM Central European Time (3 PM EST). This game will also be our first game preview of the week, so let’s get to the analysis immediately.
Manchester City vs. Stoke City
3-Way: 1: -400 Home ; X: +623 Draw ; 2: +1450 Away
Spread: Manchester City -1.5 -143 ; Stoke City +1.5 +141
Total 3.5: Over +118 ; Under -120
Manchester City will open the Round 28 with the game against Stoke, who are considered a massive underdog in this matchup. It’s not because the Stoke players are bad, but because Manchester City is too strong. Although Manchester City is trailing behind Chelsea by a total of 11 points, the title race is far from being over and the key for the Citizens will be to maintain their current form.
The Citizens have been playing very well in the league as of lately, winning the last 4 games in a row. On top of that, they have also played very well in the Champions League, defeating Monaco with 5:3 at home. It is also important to note that whenever City is playing at the Etihad, that they are a huge favorite and that a lot of goals are to be expected. In fact, Manchester City has lost only one game this season on their turf, and that loss came on December 3rd when Chelsea defeated Man. City with 3:1.
Over their last five EPL games, City has scored a total of 12 goals and conceded only 3, while going for 4 wins and only 1 draw. Their latest victory came over the past weekend when City defeated Sunderland (0:2) with Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane scoring the winning goals. In their last 4 matchups with Stoke City, Manchester has won three and lost one meeting. In all of the last three wins over Stoke, Man. City has scored 4 goals (combined a total of 12 goals).
The last time Stoke was able to defeat Man. City was on December 5th. when The Potters celebrated a 2:0 win at their bet365 Stadium. Pep Guardiola has doubts that Vincent Kompany could dress up for this game, while also stating that the talented striker Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan will miss the game.
Speaking of Stoke City, this team is flying pretty high at the moment, having won 2 of their last 3 games (both wins came at home turf) and currently holding the 9th spot on the table, with ambitions to go even higher very soon. Right now, they are far away from the spots that lead to the Euro competitions, but they definitely have the quality to stay somewhere in the middle of the table at the end of the season. Their latest form indicates that the Potters could be catching the right form but it seems fair to say that Stoke will need to look for points elsewhere, considering that they scored only 1 goal in their last 5 visits to the Etihad. According to the latest team reports, the Stoke City Manager Mark Hughes is not sure if Bruno Martins Indi and Xherdan Shaqiri will be ready to play, while it seems certain that Jack Butland and Stephen Ireland will miss this game due to injuries.
With all being said, this game seems as a real banker, but the bookies know that as well which is why the City is a -400 favorite. However, in order to really spice it up a bit, I am going with the AH on Manchester City to win with at least 2 goals.
Betting Tip: Manchester City -1.5 (-143)
