On Monday evening, from 20:00 pm, two big local rivals meet in the second English league on the Midlands arena. Stoke City receives the visit of the enemy of death, the WBA, as the difference in form and value between the two is very large at present.
At the moment, West Brom is the leader in the Championship (26-17 goalscoring) and comes after two draws and two victories, being in the big fight for super-love, with Preston, Leeds, Swansea and Bristol City. All four followers of the band near Birmingham have 25 points! All this time, Stoke is last ranked after 14 games and has only two wins.
With goalkeeping 13-25, Stoke had to change their manager, and interim was named former Irish midfielder Rory Delap, a former member of the team that made the sensation in the UEFA Cup, a decade ago. In 8 of the previous 10 matches played on his own field, Stoke has received at least two goals, but he hopes the advantage of the stadium will materialize now. The WBA received the first goal in 5 of the 7 trips made this season, in the Championship.
Interestingly, Slaven Bilic, the WBA coach, has not defeated Stoke so far in 4 straight duels. However, the quality of the game and the current game recommend the guests for a good result. The WBA comes after home draws with Charlton (2-2) and Barnsley (2-2), but also after victories with Middlesbrough (0-1) and Cardiff (4-2).
Therefore, the white-blue parties are often spectacular. Stoke lost their last matches to zero, with Sheffield Wednesday (0-2) and Milwall (0-1), even though their last home game was won, with Fulham scoring 2-0. We expect a balanced first half, and the game could open in the second half, depending on the team that will open the score.
PROBABLE TEAMS AT STOKE CITY – WBA
Stoke City: Federici; Carter-Vickers, Batth, Lindsay, Indian Martins; Ince, Ndiaye, Allen, Clucas; Hogan, Gregory
West Bromwich Albion: Johnstone, Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend; Sawyers, Livermore; Phillips, Pereira, Diangana; Austin
PREDICTION: BTS / YES @ 1,74
