Stoke City vs Stevenage Predictions

• Stoke have failed to win ten of their last 14 games at home.
• Stevenage have avoided defeat in ten of their last 11 away games
• Stevenage have lost only once in the last three months.

Stoke could come unstuck against brave Boro

Stoke are expecting a tough time from League Two promotion candidates Stevenage in Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round clash in the Potteries.

Boss Alex Neil saw the hallmarks of a team with a string mentality when, after causing a huge upset by dumping Aston Villa out of the cup in round three, Boro backed it up with a fine home win over League Two leaders Leyton Orient.

There may be two divisions between these clubs, but the mood that Steve Evans’ side are in suggests they won’t be overawed in the slightest. Stevenage have lost only once in the last three months and that sole loss came when Evans rested his first-choice keeper and a couple of key outfield players for a Papa John’s Trophy game.

Inconsistent Potters not worth trusting at odds-on

Stoke are inconsistent but ran out 4-0 winners over Reading in their last home outing. The Potters have some quality finishers with fine reputations at Championship level, but have not scored nearly as many goals as they should have on chances created.

They could come good and put the result of this cup clash beyond doubt before Stevenage get off the bus, but if they could be trusted to do that they wouldn’t be 18th in the table.

Backing the visitors to pull off another shock like Villa may be a bit too much, but Evans’ side are dogged and can live with higher-ranked sides – as they showed in the League Cup earlier this season with Reading, Peterborough and Charlton.

Hence, the recommendation here is to back the visitors to avoid defeat and a 1-1 scoreline is the suggestion for correct score players because Stoke have only once conceded multiple goals in their last six games at home, but kept just two clean sheets during that sequence.