Aston Villa vs Stoke: Match Preview
Stoke battle against Aston Villa This Sunday at Brittannia Stadium and as Pulis operates at home trying to build on Stoke’s substantial performance this season and Martin O’Neill will be trying to drive Villa up from their 7th place in the tables.
Stoke have lost just two of their past nine games, recent defeats occurring against Arsenal (3-1) and Chelsea (2-0), however, their last fixture against Burnley ended in a 1-1 draw.
The team have suffered 8 goals conceded against them in the past 5 meetings with other clubs.
The Stoke side’s comprehensive injury list is no secret and Pulis will be struggling with team enduring yet more injuries as a result of this week’s earlier fixture.
Higginbotham will be absent from the game this Saturday as well as Rory Delap who will miss the match after acquiring a leg injury earlier this week. It has also been reported that Fuller is still off the pitch due to his back injury, he was not included in the squad for Wednesday’s match against Burnley.
Pulis shared this on the nature of Delap’s injury, “Rory is a reliable and resilient so-and-so, as he’s proved more than once in his two years with us, so he’s pencilled into the squad”.
Martin O’neill will be confident his team can operate efficiently on the pitch this Saturday. Aston Villa’s recent performance will be a contributing factor to this with the team only losing one game, against Man Utd (2-1), in the past 5.
The last fixture they partook in resulted in Villa crushing Reading 4-0.
Reo Coker and Dunne will be absent from the pitch due to injury but despite this it seems Aston Villa will be meticulous in shutting Stoke down, the team have managed to defeat Stoke 5 times in their past 10 meetings.
The last success the Midlands side managed against Villa occurred in 2008 when Pulis’ side managed a 3-2 victory.
A victory here will be another crucial step for Villa in their incredibly successful season, with just 45 points, 4 away from Man City at 5th, this side will definitely be battling hard to draw a victory out of this meeting.
The odds stand, in favour of Aston Villa, at 5/4 with Bet365.
All odds correct at time of writing and are subject to change
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