Both Stoke and Leicester recorded much needed wins last weekend and they will be looking to build on those victories this weekend. The win last weekend was a first victory at the club in his opening game for new Leicester boss Claude Puel, and that would have been great for the fans to see. Stoke recorded their first away win of the season at Watford, and will be hoping that gives them something to build on over the coming weeks after winning just three of their opening ten games.
Both teams have the ability to be doing much better than they are doing, and both will be looking to build on last weekend in an attempt to climb the table, which should give us a good game on Saturday.
Premier League – Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent – Saturday, 4. November, 13:30
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Draw Best Odd of: 9/4 at Ladbrokes |
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Stoke City
Leicester City FCStoke Form
A 2-1 home defeat against Bournemouth two weeks ago put Stoke in the bottom three, with pressure piling onto boss Mark Hughes. However, they did redeem themselves last weekend, although there is a lot more work needed. The good news for Stoke is that the league is pretty tight at the moment, they are just three points ahead of the relegation zone, but on a positive note, they are only three points behind Newcastle in 9th.
Not only did Stoke win for the first time away from home last season, but they also did it against a team who are playing well. Watford started last weekend in 6th, and they have been playing some very impressive football, beating some of the top teams. A week after conceding seven against Manchester City, Stoke kept a clean sheet, something else which should really boost confidence in the camp. It hasn’t been great so far for Stoke, but they have shown signs and after such a good performance last weekend, they will be looking to build on that and pick up another positive result here.
Leicester Form
Since sacking manager Craig Shakespeare, Leicester have won two games and turned around their bad start to the season. That has taken them to 11th in the table and they are actually unbeaten in their last four games. That has made things easier for new incoming manager Claude Puel, whoj was in charge for the first time during Leicester’s 2-0 victory over Everton. One area Leicester have improved on recently has been their defending, they had a poor defensive record prior to the month of October, but that has been worked on. They have played four games in October, three in the Premier League and one in the League Cup and conceded just three goals in those games, a very good improvement. More of that will really please Puel, and that is surely something he will be looking to work on in his first few weeks. Just like Stoke, Leicester have given themselves something to build on over the coming weeks, and with a new manager in charge they could go on to do well over the coming weeks.
Team News
Stoke changed their defensive formation last weekend due to injuries and it will be interesting to see if they stick with it. They played three defenders, Kurt Zouma, Ryan Shawcross and Kevin Wimmer, and they came together very well to provide Stoke with a solid platform to build upon. The Leicester attacking play way very good last weekend, with Jamie Vardy and Demarai Gray combining to score two goals and look a big threat all game. Those two may have been rejuvenated with the new manager coming in and if they continue to play well, Leicester will have no problem scoring goals.
Top Betting Tips
This game is a close one to call, both teams have a lot of work still to do, but played well last weekend and they could be on the up. At the prices, Leicester look to be the bet, they are available to win the game at 15/8 with Ladbrokes and Paddy Power, which represents fair value. Leicester have a new manager with them, they have found a way to defend better and if they click, they certainly know how to score goals with Vardy and other players around him all on form. It is going to be interesting to see just how Leicester perform over the coming weeks under Claude Puel, and that can continue with a win against Stoke this weekend.
Both teams still have a lot to prove, both teams could be going the right way after good results last weekend, but I give Leicester the edge in this one.