S’land v Stoke: Backlash from hosts to spark lower-half chaos

Few correct score punters will have reaped rewards from Sunderland’s last league outing, as Paolo Di Canio’s improving charges were shockingly trounced 6-1 away to Aston Villa, re-igniting their relegation fears in the process.

As the Black Cats host Stoke though, there is scope to suggest that punters can take advantage of this market, with a 1-0 home success looking worthy of investment at 6/1.

Sunderland, 11/10 to simply win the match, have most regularly prevailed via a 1-0 scoreline this season, and three of their four victories by this result have come at the Stadium of Light.

Whilst in their visitors, 11/4 to triumph, they meet a side that have most regularly been beaten by the same scoreline this term, with five of their six 1-0 defeats occurring on the road.

Also, considering the Potters have found the net in only one of their past six encounters opposing the Mackems, this bet appears stronger still.

And more cautious punters could turn to goal markets in light of that aforementioned statistic, with Sunderland appealing 29/20 shots to keep a clean sheet here.

Furthermore, as the Mackems have triumphed from three of those most recent six battles between this pair, they tempt hugely at 9/4 to win this match without conceding, a notion strengthened by Stoke’s failure to score in nine of their 17 seasonal away games.

Although they shipped six in their last outing, the Black Cats had shown a renewed resistance under Di Canio’s stewardship prior to that Villa Park debacle, and the Italian is sure to demand a reaction in this clash.

Investment in total result markets could therefore prove profitable, and backing a low-scoring home triumph appears sensible for punters looking for more security than offered within a correct score punt.

Sunderland are 13/4 to prevail from a match involving less than 2.5 strikes, and such a bet would have paid off in five of their past six victories over Stoke.

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