EPL Betting: Aston Villa vs. Stoke City

Aston Villa continued their winning ways midweek when they beat Sunderland 2:0 on the away. The victory extended their undefeated streak to ten consecutive matches, going back to September 26th when they lost to an unlikely Blackburn Rovers 2:1.The Villans will be looking to extend their high-flying form at the expense of visiting Stoke City.

Stoke City are after a 2:2 draw against Wigan on Saturday. They didn’t participate in midweek EPL action so they head to Villa Park fresher. That said, Stoke City have slowed down recently after a modestly good start, and as one would expect their form has slipped as well. They are now middle of the table – a position that many feel best suits their perceived abilities.

Stoke is not a star-studded squad but an outfit built of hardworking individuals with a healthy team ethos. This makes them a tough team to play against however and not surprisingly, at times frustrating – even for the best in the league.

Soccer Betting Line:

Aston Villa -1  -135   -230   2½  O -105   U -115   1½  O -140   U +120   Draw   +300    
Stoke City  +1  +115   +725  2½  O -105   U -115    ½  O -115   U -105  Draw   +300    

Match Time: 10:00 AM Eastern Time Saturday December 19, 2009
Venue: Villa Park

Aston Villa (-1) @ Stoke City >> Join to Bet Now

Soccer Betting Verdict: That Aston Villa enter this match as the solid favourites is hardly surprising. Their status is underscored by their impressive form since September and is more than enough to recommend them to win outright in this match. Further recommending Aston Villa in this match is the accounts they opened during this run. In just their last six home matches they scored 14 goals and conceded only four.

Stoke City will be looking to hand the Villans their first defeat in a long time and they are not without a chance. They are just the type of unassuming team to do so.  However, they haven’t had a whole lot of success thwarting the bigwigs this season save for beating Tottenham Hotspur 1:0 on the away.

Some would argue though the Spurs are more like pretenders – still they are fifth in the league right now. Nevertheless, as the soccer betting line indicates – Stoke are tipped at +725 underdog odds – it is a long  shot bet.

The Villans are more likely to win than lose this one. Then again, all runs come to an end sometime. Might this be the end of Villans ten-match undefeated streak in league action? 

Soccer Free Picks: Because there is more tangible evidence to suggest the Villans will win this one, and win by a good goal margin, the recommended plays are Aston at -230, Over 1.5 -140 and Over 2.5 at -105. For those risk-takers, who love to back a quality underdog, you could do worse than backing Stoke at +725 in the unlikely event they will mastermind the unthinkable. Certainly, scoring a goal is within their scope so the Over ½ at -115 is within their scope.

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