Stoke City v Man City Premier League Betting Tips August 20th 2016

Tip #1: Back Draw @ 3.75 with bet365.com

Tip #2: Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 2.00 with bet365.com

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Stoke City v Man City Premier League Betting Tips: Match Preview

Stoke City

Last season was solid in places for Stoke City, with manager Mark Hughes enthused by the combination of attacking-midfielders Bojan, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Marko Arnautović. If those three can maintain greater consistency, in terms of form and condition, then Hughes can possibly guide his Stoke team higher than last season’s ninth-placed finish.

For Hughes, there are opportunities to take advantage of, with Leicester City now deprived of the superb N’Golo Kanté and Southampton now under new management. The top half of the league is now better than ever, so Hughes must find a way to drive his Potters forward.

In terms of transfer activity, Stoke have focused on keeping their best player, with midfielder Joe Allen being the only major arrival at £13 million from Liverpool. Stoke lacked cohesion in the centre of the park last season, so Allen will need to help link the play together with his diverse range of passing.

Hughes might want to consider starting Allen against Man City, having watched Stoke battle for a 1-1 draw up in Middlesbrough. The concerns from that game were conceding from two shots on target, while only creating one shot on target. Allen will be a waste of money if he does not help Stoke to get better in possession.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola was deprived of a comfortable first victory in the Premier League, having witnessed Sergio Agüero score a penalty in the first four minutes before being deprived of a second by the time Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe scored on 71 minutes. Man City then had to settle for a Paddy McNair own-goal to claim all three points.

All did not go to plan against Sunderland, but what was clear is that City have been drilled to dominate possession, which is a trait demanded of his teams. Across 90 minutes of action, the Citizens controlled a staggering 77% possession, making him the closest equivalent of Louis van Gaal this season.

For City, it appears they still need to go through more refinement if they are to carve open the intricate chances that football fans got so used to seeing at Barcelona and then Bayern Munich. In the meantime, there could be some close results for City fans to watch, considering that they could only create four shots on target against Sunderland.

City’s adjustment period is understandable, however, given the positional changes. For instance, Willy Caballero is now the first-choice goalkeeper, Aleksandar Kolarov is being used at centre-back, and David Silva is a deep-lying playmaker. These are big changes that will take time for the team to get comfortable with.

Verdict

Stoke beat Man City 2-0 when they played this fixture last December, but this time City are less stable and consistent, given the challenge of adjusting to Guardiola’s philosophy.

Meanwhile, City have to cope with a Tuesday night Champions League qualifier before playing Stoke in the early game on Saturday. Given the uncertainty, a draw could be the logical outcome.

Tip #1: Back Draw to win @ 3.75 with bet365.com

Tip #2: Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 2.00 with bet365.com

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