Stoke City v Manchester United: Tough test for the Red Devils
Stoke City host Manchester United in the late kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday evening. It should be a tough test for the defending champions as they try and keep their 100 per cent start to the season alive when they travel to the Britannia Stadium.
Unibet make Manchester United favourites in the match odds at 6/11 while a Stoke win is 5/1 and a draw offered at 11/4.
Last Sunday proved to a good day for Manchester United. They didn’t just overcome title rivals Chelsea 3-1 in a game they didn’t perform particularly well in, but their neighbours Manchester City were pegged back to a 2-2 draw away to Fulham on the same afternoon. It was the first slip up by Roberto Mancini’s side and leaves them two points adrift of United in the Premier League table.
United may have opened a bigger gap of five points on Chelsea but manager Alex Ferguson will know that his side were far from superb and there are still a lot improvements that need to be made to the side. Defence and attack do seem to be doing a tremendous job for the Red Devils but once again the gaping hole seems to be in midfield. United’s wingers, Ashley Young and Nani, are playing brilliantly but central midfield still is an area the team are having trouble retaining the ball. United are going to need the likes of Anderson and Fletcher to step up on Saturday in the centre of the park because they face a tough assignment Stoke.
Tony Pulis’ side are currently riding high in the Premier League and are up into 5th after picking up eight points from five games. They are coming off the back of their first defeat of the season last weekend, a 4-0 thrashing by Sunderland, but they now return to the fortress they call the Britannia Stadium. They have lost just once at their home ground this year, a meaningless final day of the season defeat to Wigan back in May.
With an abundance of tough-tackling, long ball aerial assaults, and hard challenges all the order of the day at the ground, the Britannia is quickly becoming one of the hardest places to go for travelling teams in the Premier League. Chelsea have been there already this season and could only come away with a 0-0 draw while Liverpool was severely frustrated in a 1-0 defeat. Stoke will fancy going up against another big club at home and will be looking to give United just as hard a time as they did to the previous visitors this campaign.
In the betting for Saturday, this is going to be the biggest test this new look United side have faced this season but they should pull through. Stoke will be aggressive and try not let their opponents play but this new team Ferguson has assembled has enough skill to get the win. Liverpool came here and had 75 per cent of the possession but couldn’t use it and lost. United will not make the same mistake and in Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Nani have attackers who have shown already this season how lethal they can be.
Also, just one of Manchester United’s competitive fixtures this season has ended with fewer than three goals and with the goal scoring form they are in it might not end soon.
Tip #1: Back Manchester United to win at 6/11 with Unibet
Tip #2: Back Over 2.5 goals at 3/4 with Unibet
For more betting previews, sportsbook promotions and football news subscribe here
| Register in Unibet.com Today! |
