Stoke City committed one of the cardinal sins in the Premier League last weekend when it was beaten by Sunderland, a team which was mired in the relegation fight and likely will be for the rest of the year.
It would be something if the Potters were able to come right back and knock off the team at the top of the table, Manchester City.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Stoke City +400
Manchester City -140 Draw +250
Over/Under 2.5 (over -130)
ODDS ANALYSIS
Not surprisingly, Manchester City is the easy favorite in this one, especially the way that Stoke played against Sunderland last week. The Potters are going to face a long, uphill battle on Saturday, especially after having to play in the Capital One Cup in the middle of the week in what could be a really tough match against Sheffield Wednesday.
Man City is the -140 moneyline favorite, a number which could rise if the showing for Stoke against Sheffield Wednesday isn't all that strong.
The total is understandably a little high with Manchester City being involved in this game at 2.5 and -130 vig on the over.
KEY INJURIES
Here we go again with Sergio Aguero. The Uruguayan suffered a heel injury last week which saw him come off the pitch, but Manuel Pellegrini suggests that the injury isn't serious. That doesn't mean that he's certainly going to be out on the field on Saturday morning.
Remember that Vincent Kompany, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta are all long-term absentees as well for the Citizens.
Stoke is playing without Shay Given in net and Marc Muniesa, the latter of which has a thigh injury and is in all likelihood going to sit this one out as well.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"The only confidence I have is always about my work. I think that is the only way you must try to demonstrate the kind of manager you are. I never have any problem about my work, so it doesn't matter what they say." – Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini on the rumors that Pep Guardiola will be taking his job at the end of the season
RECENT FORM
Everything was going well for Stoke with wins over Southampton and Chelsea sandwiching the international break, but that loss to Sunderland was crippling. The Potters, for all of the work they've done this year, are still close enough to the relegation zone to be concerned, and dropping all three points here to the Citizens would be really disappointing.
Manchester City rebounded from a bad four days with losses to Liverpool and Juventus by beating up Southampton 3-1. It was a great response for a team which has had everything going against it this past week, not the least of which was the statement by Guardiola that he is going to be leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Stoke got caught napping at the Stadium of Light last week, but we think it is going to be in much better shape in this one. Yes, not having Ryan Shawcross is going to hurt at the back, but Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri could really take it to the Citizens at the back in their biggest game of the term.
The injuries for City are just too tough to overcome. With everything else that's going wrong right now at the Ethiad, we can see the Citizens putting together a poor effort, especially if Aguero is out.
Keep an eye on the Aguero injury leading up to match day, but if he's out, we think the Citizens are set to get beaten.
Stoke City 1, Manchester City 0
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