Blunt Stoke provide Premier League relegation value

Still available at 9/2 to suffer relegation from the Premier League, punters may be coming around to the idea of Stoke playing Championship football next season.

Usually the epitome of a hard-to-beat side, the Potters have been overcome far too easily in the second half of this campaign, with 10 defeats emanating from their last 13 top-flight outings.

And as no side throughout all four tiers of English football has found the net on less occasions than their 28, it is difficult to see where the necessary goals to keep them in the division will come from.

Indeed, Tony Pulis’ men have notched only seven times in that aforementioned 13-match stretch, drawing nine blanks along the way.

And though they have been typically strong defensively throughout the campaign, Stoke have failed to capitalise on their sturdy backline, winning less than half of the matches in which they haven’t conceded this term.

A glance at upcoming fixtures poses further questions regarding the Britannia Stadium outfit’s survival meanwhile, even if a number of their remaining games do appear winnable.

Stoke face a trip to fellow strugglers QPR in their next outing, who themselves are 1/100 for the drop, but it should be noted that the Hoops have won three of the past four encounters between the pair.

In addition to that, home clashes with relegation-threatened Norwich and Champions League-chasing Tottenham could prove problematic, with the Canaries 9/1 to go down, and Spurs now 11/10 to achieve their top-four ambition.

Meanwhile, a trip to a Sunderland side rejuvenated by the appointment of Paolo Di Canio is certain to prove tricky, as the Black Cats aim to further lengthen their 11/2 price to finish in the bottom three.

And Stoke fans will hope they aren’t travelling to improving Southampton on the final day of the season in need of points, given that the Saints have lost only twice under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino.

Given the testing nature of the Potters’ remaining fixtures therefore, and their seeming inability to find the net, 9/2 looks a very fair price they suffer a surprise relegation this term.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.