The third set of matches in the Sky Bet Championship this week begins on Friday night when two of the top five in the table meet at the Bet365 Stadium as Stoke City host West Bromwich Albion in what should be a great way to get the weekend underway.
The Baggies can move clear at the top overnight with a win in this match but should the home side come out with all three points then they would really lay down a marker that announces them as genuine promotion candidates.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Football channels with all the build-up to the contest beginning at 7pm. The match will kick off at 7.45pm.
Stoke City
When you consider where Stoke City have been since they fell out of the Premier League a few years ago, you can understand it if there is a little more excitement in Staffordshire after the start the Potters have made to the season. They have won half of their matches and are undefeated on their own patch, dropping points only when Barnsley were in town, so Stoke are entitled to go into this match feeling confident about their chances.
Michael O’Neill has finally got his men moulded into a shape where they can be dangerous and they are getting the results that come with that. Although they have won five matches, you have to point out that the only team they have beaten in the top 10 in the table are Huddersfield Town, so it might just be that they have had a nice schedule. They have the chance to point out that isn’t the case here. Stoke have only won one of their last four too which isn’t ideal.
West Brom
I would imagine most judges would have expected West Brom to have more wins than six in their opening 10 matches when they won four of their first five. They went through a wobble of three draws in a row where Valerien Ismael was beginning to get some questions about his style of play and things like that. Luckily for him his side have won their last two matches and those voices are beginning to be quietened down once again.
The Baggies are yet to be beaten this season and have the best away record in the Championship. If there is one concern though it would come in the fact that they have only kept four clean sheets in their 10 matches so they are allowing opponents to remain in matches, which might be why they have ended up drawing four times already this season. Only Fulham have scored more goals than them in this division though so they are at least delivering at the right end of the pitch.
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Team News
Stoke will have to do without midfielder Sam Clucas as he is suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card in midweek. Joe Allen is also out with injury while Romaine Sawyers is ineligible against his parent club so there is a bit of an issue in the centre of the park for the Potters.
West Brom are likely to jiggle their side around a little with this their third match in seven days. Grady Diangana was a substitute for the win at Cardiff in midweek and he could return to the starting XI. Mat Phillips is another pushing to start.
Betting
When I was looking at this match from a statistical point of view the contest looked a little on the even side but the absence of Sam Clucas might hurt Stoke more than they would like. If his absence doesn’t then the combined loss of the former Hull City man and Romaine Sawyers who can’t play against the team he is on loan from certainly isn’t going to help them. To have few options to change things up during a third game in six days is always an issue.
West Bromwich Albion aren’t the best team to watch in the world but they do have the luxury of being able to rotate their players and not really lose too much such is the style they adopt and I just think they’ll be too big, too strong and ultimately too good for a Stoke side who are missing too much in the centre of the pitch for my liking. I always like a bit of draw cover at the end of these insanely busy weeks and we can get that with the Baggies so I’m happy to be on them on the Asian lines.
Tips
Back West Brom (-0.25AH) to beat Stoke City for a 3/10 stake at 1.93 with BetVictor
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