Crystal Palace vs Stoke Betting Tips

Crystal Palace have really been struggling lately, and their lack of a striker has been more evident than ever. They have signed Emmanuel Adebayor this week, but it’s touch and go whether he’ll be fit enough to play against Stoke.

His presence up front would be a real bonus though, because Crystal Palace have only managed to find the net three times in their last seven games, and two of those were in the same match.

This has obviously translated into a string of poor results. Four of their last five matches have ended in defeat for Crystal Palace and they have only won once in their last seven games.

This win came in the FA Cup 3^rd Round when they visited the out of form Southampton and came away with a 2-1 victory.

Crystal Palace are in a comfortable but unpromising 11^th position in the Premier League, so an FA Cup run will be high on the agenda for Alan Pardew.

But the same thing goes for Stoke. They are in 9^th position in the league with two more points than their opponents, and with a host of teams above them vying for Europe they probably won’t be holding out much hope of qualifying through the league.

However, the talent they have available in their squad makes a cup run more likely than ever this season.

Stoke have already enjoyed a cup run this season, but it came to an end in midweek as Liverpool knocked them out of the Capital One Semi Final on penalties. This followed a rare defensive collapse at Leicester over the weekend.

Overall the visitors form is looking fairly good, if a bit inconsistent. They have won four, lost four, and draw one of their last nine games in all competitions, including wins against Manchester United and Everton and a draw against Arsenal.

Stoke are in the better form of the two clubs and they will be desperate to get another cup run going after their narrow miss on a League Cup Final. I think they can manage to get at least a replay from this tie, and odds of 4/5 for a Stoke Win or Draw Double Chance look excellent value. I’m also backing a 1-0 win for the visitors at 8/1.