Manchester United will have their work cut out to force a result at home against the very physical Stoke City.
Manchester United will be determined to react well after they were put out of the FA Cup over the weekend thanks to Liverpool. They have a fairly decent record at home this season and will be the heavy favourites. They also have very loud home support which should be enough to inspire the players to get the result the club needs to keep the pressure on Manchester City at the top of the table. United are 2/7 with a couple of bookies.
Stoke will try and take a point from this game with their physical approach which will be difficult for the home side to cope with. Stoke will have to find ways of holding the ball up because they will hit it long in order to get the pressure away from their defence and goal. Stoke take lots of away support with them wherever they go and are known to have arguably the loudest set of supporters in the country. Stoke have had some good results against the bigger sides at times this season. They are 14s with BetVictor to win.
United will have a lot of possession during this game and how many goals they score will be determined by how easily they can break through the Stoke defence. United have tended to attack in the wider areas over the last few matches which suggests they should get a few decent chances to score goals. United to win this match 3-0 is a best price of 7s with a couple of bookmakers.
Stoke will sit deep which may seem dangerous but they must rely on an organised defence to keep a clean sheet. Their chances of putting together a few counter attacks will be increased the later the game goes on but there is a good chance Stoke could nick it going into the late stages if things are still level. Stoke to win the match 1-0 is a best price of 30/1 with Paddy Power.
Danny Welbeck looked as though he was enjoying the responsibility of leading the United attack in the match against Liverpool. He is a very young man and will be equally determined to play well in this match against Stoke. Welbeck has a lot of pace which means he can run in behind the defence, he also has superb control which allows him to hold the ball up. He is 19/4 with BetVictor to score first.
Peter Crouch has to be the best bet to score the first goal of the game for Stoke owing to his massive size. He is the tallest striker in the Premier League and his presence means Stoke can hit the ball long in counter attacks and also when they need to take the pressure off of the defence. Crouch has been successful against Manchester United in the past. He is 14s also with BetVictor to score first.
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