Stoke City’s first-ever European campaign has been one success after another so far, as Tony Pulis’ side have marched unbeaten through six matches – recording five wins and one draw. Thursday’s Europa League home clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv should be no different, with the Potters’ home form and the Israelis’ recent struggles pointing to only one outcome – home win!
Stoke have won 13 and drawn six of their last 20 home matches, with their solitary defeat having been inflicted by Wigan Athletic on the last day of last season. But football followers will remember that Wigan caught Stoke eight days after their disappointing FA Cup final loss and yet they could still hardly get out of their own half before the interval, finally securing their Premier League safety when they threw caution to the wind after the break.
Maccabi, second in the Israeli top flight, lost 2-1 at the weekend and were thrashed 5-1 by Besiktas on their previous Europa League trip, the same team Stoke beat 2-1.
Although a home win appears virtually assured, punters should be wary about backing a goalfest, as Stoke have only scored more than two goals on one occasion at home this season, so 2-0 could be the expectation for Correct Score wagers.
Stoke City (4/9) in 90 Minutes and (11/2) 2-0 in Correct Score Market.
Dynamo Kiev (4/6) are worth including in multiples as they are in better form than Besiktas ahead of the Turkish outfit’s visit to the Ukraine. Kiev are unbeaten in their last 14 matches and should account for a flaky Besiktas team, who went down 2-0 at home to Kayserispor on Saturday. The Istanbul club have only won once away from home all season, against a Bursaspor team reduced to ten men in the 25th minute.
Anderlecht (5/4) should be buzzing at the moment. The Brussels club beat rivals Standard Liege 5-0 at the weekend and are currently on a superb run of form that has seen them win eleven and draw three of their matches since their opening day Belgian League defeat. But their away form is even more interesting and suggests they are more than capable of winning in Austria against Sturm Graz.
Anderlecht have won six of their last seven away matches, including trips to Lokomotiv Moscow and Bursaspor. Prior to that they even managed creditable draws at Paris St Germain and Benfica – much stronger opposition than Graz.
Sturm lost 2-1 at home to Lokomotiv Moscow in September and 2-0 at home to BATE Borisov before that. On both occasions they were already losing at half-time, so take a chance on Anderlecht/Anderlecht (3/1) in the Half-time/Full-time market.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.