Stoke v Newcastle: Hard to argue against a home win

Newcastle’s recent poor form is about to get a shade worse with a trip to Stoke on the horizon.

The Potteries is one place you don’t want to go when in desperate need of a win and, after enduring three defeats on that spin, the Magpies now find themselves in this very predicament. They’re 11/4 to end their foul run at the Britannia, but the 1/1 that says Stoke are going to take maximum points here is very difficult to oppose.

Tony Pulis’ side looked back to their formidable best when beating Fulham last time out – the 1-0 scoreline should have been far heavier.

The Britannia has always served Stoke well and this season has been no different. Manchester City are the only side who have managed to score a goal of the six Premier League sides to visit this season and they are now on a run of four consecutive clean sheets on their own patch.

This makes the 12/5 on offer for them to win the match without conceding again excellent value, while the 13/8 available to shut the goal-shy Toon out is as good as money in the bank.

Alan Pardew has come under fire following his sides’ slide down towards the Premier League’s nether regions and no wins in 10 all-comps away matches this season has played a big part in this.

Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba drew a blank at Southampton last time out and with a key supply line in Yohan Cabaye cut off through injury, it’s difficult to envisage where the goals are going to come from, especially against a resolute outfit such as Stoke.

With the Magpies goalscoring woes set to hold them back here, Stoke’s price of 6/4 to win the first half is a very enticing prospect.

They’ve achieved this feat in two of the previous three games, as well as in half of their last four at home this campaign and in two of the past three renewals of this fixture also.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date