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Stoke v West Brom tips: Championship preview and best bets
Promotion hopefuls West Brom travel to high-flying Stoke for a mouthwatering Championship clash on Friday evening. Jake Pearson has previewed the match-up, picking out two best bets.
Football betting tips: Championship
1.5pts Both teams to score at 10/11 (Mansion Bet)
1pt Over 2.5 Goals at 21/20 (General)
Ten games into the Sky Bet Championship season and Stoke fans would be forgiven for wishing it to come to a halt right now, fourth in the table having won half of their opening matches.
It is a far cry from the form that saw them finish in 14th place last season, and plenty of Potters fans will be dreaming of a return to the top flight of English football, but it is early days yet, and in truth, Stoke’s fixtures so far have been relatively kind.
Eight of their ten matches this season have been against opposition that were in the Championship last season, and the average finishing position for those teams is 13th, while their toughest match of the season, away at relegated Fulham last month, saw them handed a bit of a hiding, losing 3-0.
This is their second real test of the season, against a quality-laden West Brom side who are genuine contenders for the title, and for whom victory will see them enter the weekend top of the league.
Kick-off time: 19:45 BST, Friday
TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event
Stoke 2/1 | Draw 23/10 | West Brom 11/8
West Brom’s blip – drawing three consecutive matches against Millwall, Derby and Preston – looks to be over now, the Baggies coming out the other side with a come-from-behind victory over QPR, and a 4-0 hammering of out-of-form Cardiff.
It takes their tally to 20 goals in ten matches, and an in-form West Brom are tough for any team to stop.
Stoke may have the second-best home record in the division, winning four of their five matches at the bet365 Stadium, but the Baggies have the league’s best away record. Stoke average 1.8 goals per game at home, while West Brom average 2 per match when on the road.
Effectively, this is one of the best home sides in the league taking on the best away side in the league, and both teams are in good form; it should be an entertaining affair.
Stoke have failed to score in just two of their Championship matches this season, but both of those were away from home, the Potters netting in all of their home matches so far.
West Brom have failed to find the back of the net on just one occasion, but that came at the Hawthorns, with the Baggies scoring at least once in all of their away fixtures.
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE has landed in 60% of both these side’s fixtures this season, and expect it to do so again.
Mansion Bet’s price of 10/11 for both teams to find the net offers much more value than the prices on offer with the majority of other firms and should be snapped up as quickly as possible.
Should both teams get on the scoresheet in this match, then only one more goal is needed for there to be three or more goals, a selection also worth siding with.
The average match goals in the Championship over the last three seasons has been roughly 2.54, but this season in particular, we are seeing ‘Unders’ priced up as the favourite.
That is the case again here, in a game containing two of the league’s top seven scorers, which makes the 21/20 about OVER 2.5 GOALS an appealing price.
It is a bet that has landed in 60% of West Brom’s matches, as well as in half of Stoke’s matches, so anything above the even money mark based on those figures looks worth siding with.
Stoke v West Brom score prediction and best bets
- 1.5pts Both teams to score at 10/11 (Mansion Bet)
- 1pt Over 2.5 Goals at 21/20 (General)
Score prediction: Stoke 1-2 West Brom (Sky Bet odds: 15/2)
Odds correct 1110 BST (29/09/21)
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