EPL: Stoke City V Blackburn Rovers

Stoke City

League Position: 14th
League Form: WDWLL

I’m sure there will be many punters sprinting out of various dark corners with audacious claims of ‘I knew the combative Potters would bounce back sooner or later’. We, though, feared the worst at one stage although can patently see exactly why every team in the Premier League these days fears a 90 minute spell with Stoke City. Not only are they an intimidating bunch to look but they’re extremely tenacious, something manager Tony Pulis wouldn’t have any other way.

Bounce back ability is a characteristic few sides really boast but Stoke City have that in abundance. Opening the campaign with three successive defeats would rot most side’s morale and confidence from the inside but not Stoke, not a team so battle hardened and gusty that I would actually go as far as to say they thrive off adversity. If there’s a point to be proven, a disappointing run which needs correcting or a poor performance n the pitch which needs resurrecting, Stoke are always up for the challenge. Three opening defeats was answered by a three-match run without a single loss, picking up seven points from a possible nine and thus lifting them away from the doom and gloom of relegation and into the more sunnier heights of mid-table.

Thing really are starting to look much brighter at Stoke City, but how long will that last? While the Potters are renowned for their indestructible qualities, they’ve never been one for positive streaks. During the two and a bit seasons Stoke have been involved with the Premier League, seven games is the longer they’ve gone unbeaten. A run which came about right at the beginning of the year, strangely enough off the back of three successive league losses, and you get the feeling that Tony Pulis need to somehow bottle this new confidence around the Brittania before it wears off, because it will.

Next up for Stoke City, their last league fixture for two weeks, is a home encounter against a side not too dissimilar to themselves in Blackburn Rovers. And the omens are good, very good in fact, as Stoke boast a 100% record at home to Blackburn in the league, a run they’ll be eager but confident of continuing especially with the prolific scoring form of Kenwyn Jones up front, who has now scored in all four games he’s played in as a Stoke City player this season. Ricardo Fuller, though is a doubt, as is winger Jermaine Pennant.

Blackburn Rovers

League Position: 9th
League Form: WDDLL

It has been impressive stuff up till now from Blackburn, quickly recovering from two early defeats to bounce back with a three-match streak without loss. That’s the Blackburn we all know and love, kinda, and with one away victory already in the bag at just their second attempt, Rovers will go in search of their second in successive weekend, a feat they’ve not achieved since March 2009.

Much like their opposite numbers, Blackburn are a resilient bunch, a group who just don’t know when they’re beaten, and with that we should be in for a decent encounter on Saturday. Then again, if Sam Allardyce has his wicked way then perhaps we won’t. ‘Big Sam’ is a cut-throat manager, it’s one of the reason we love him in all fairness, and he’ll be doing whatever it takes to successful plot Stoke’s downfall on Saturday, even if it means sacrificing El-Hadji Diouf’s harmonious reputation.

Blackburn are about to embark upon a three-match unbeaten run should they repel the Potters at The Brittania this weekend. Although, funnily enough, that won’t be all too an unfamiliar occurrence as Blackburn enjoyed a hat-trick of unbeaten league games on four occasions last season, suggesting there’s every chance of them holding their own at The Brittania, in case any of you doubted as Rovers side just as combative and stubborn as Stoke City. However, we’re having big problems picturing Blackburn winning two away games on the trot. With the exception of Fulham, I don’t recollect a poorer travelling outfit that Blackburn Rovers, certainly not in recent years, excluding the sides which flirt with promotion every other season.

Last weekend Blackburn produced a stirring display to overhaul England’s newest football love Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. It was the best performance we’ve seen from Rovers in an away fixture for quite some time, really going at the Tangerines right from the word ‘go’, not afraid to play the attacking game rather than their usual tepid and defensive manner like many away fixtures they set themselves up for, and their persistence inside the penalty area seen them rewarded with two rather fortunate goals. Alladryce clearly felt the game was their to be won and went for it. Whether he will be quite so courageous and gun-ho at The Brittania stadium is a different matter altogether, although, they will certainly give it all they’ve got; there will be no let up and certainly no backing down from Blackburn Rovers, not if ‘Big Sam’ has anything to do with it.

Match Prediction: Stoke City to WIN – 2.38 SkyBet

While these two maybe similar in style and how they set themselves up, Stoke still stand head and shoulder above Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers. The latter have this tendency to go missing in visits to average clubs, and by that I mean anyone outside of the top eight or so. Rovers are second to none are gearing themselves up and thriving off the underdog status in matches but when it comes to clashes against the teams in and around them, they tend to falter away from more. They were also beaten quite emphatically on their last visit to The Brittania, a 3-0 defeat back in February and although Rovers are on the verge of a rare feat of back-to-back away victories in the league, we fully expect Stoke to spoil the party.

Highlighted Bets:

Over/Under: Under 2.5 Goals – 1.80 SkyBet
First Goalscorer: Kenwyn Jones – 7.00 SkyBet
Correct Score: 2-0 Stoke City – 12.00 SkyBet