Could Stoke’s Growing Injury List Be End of Premiership Performance?
Burnley aim to end an abysmal run this Wednesday as they square off against Stoke City at home at Turf Moor.
This league game has been postponed since January and marks a vital opportunity for Burnley to acquire points and improve on their 19th place in the league.
Brian Laws side have managed just 1 success in their past 5 games, a 2-1 defeat of West Ham, and have had a mammoth 14 goals conceded against them.
Hopefully operating at home will motivate the side to improve on this, as their away performance seems to be set in stone with a total of 14 losses at other grounds so far this season.
Fletcher, Caldwell and McCann will all miss the game due to injury. McCann’s knee injury is reportedly severe as Laws mentioned, 'Chris is still feeling his knee slightly….. We have to think more long term than short term I am afraid”.
Caldwell’s injury status is a little more hopeful as he has returned to training but due to the persistent nature of his groin strain he is still doubtful for Wednesday.
Despite Stoke’s intense activity in the premiership this year, Tony Pulis will not be letting his guard down this Wednesday. The team’s away performance is subject to scrutiny as they have only achieved 2 wins at other club’s grounds so far this season.
The Stoke City manager will definitely be aiming for an improvement on the club’s 11th place in the league as he declared, “We’ve got to make sure we get back on track in the league and really drive on in the last 11 games to try to make the most of the back end of the season”.
The injury status of the squad is still pretty severe with Higginbotham now joining the ever growing roster. Also missing the match will be Glenn Whelan (Hamstring injury), Salif Diao (calf muscle) and James Beattie (knee injury), the latest additions to Stoke’s worrying number of absentees.
Pulis commented, “We mustn’t take our foot off the pedal. I’m just hoping we’ve got enough players fit to go to Burnley on Wednesday.”
The odds stand, in favor of Stoke, at 15/8 with Bet365.
All odds correct at time of writing and are subject to change
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