Draw at HT looks best option as Stoke prepare to host Chelsea

Given that Stoke are the only Premier League club still protecting an unbeaten home record this season, it is rather baffling that Chelsea are odds-on at 19/20 to be the first to leave the Britannia with maximum points.

The only possible excuse for the price is that only Manchester United can boast a better away record than Chelsea and the Blues have already claimed victories at other difficult locations this season, namely Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton.

Still, there are far better bets on offer than an away win, with a draw at half-time leading the way at 11/10.

Each of the last four showdowns between the pair would have landed this bet and six of the last nine have been level at the break.

Furthermore, five of Stoke’s last nine Premier League games have been a draw after 45 minutes.

Punters wanting to take it one stage further may want to back 0-0 at half-time at 13/8, given that this has been the result at the interval in the last three encounters between Chelsea and Stoke.

Another potentially profitable market is the 8/11 that under 2.5 goals are scored at the Britannia.

Firstly, Stoke have never scored more than once in a single game against Chelsea since their promotion to the Premier League and have drawn blanks in seven of these 10 fixtures.

Meanwhile, Stoke have been the stingiest in defence this season in front of their own fans, conceding just seven times.

Throw in that Chelsea have only let in 11 on their travels and both are set to be strong in defence here.

For those fancying the final score to finish 0-0, this is available at 7/1.

But punters would be better served taking the 7/1 on there being no goalscorer, as this also includes the possibility of the fixture finishing 1-0 with an own goal.

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