Stoke vs Watford Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Stoke made it five games without a win on Saturday when they lost to the dominant Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In fairness to the visitors, they did manage to draw level after falling behind twice against the usually defensively resilient Chelsea, but eventually they ran out of steam and ended up losing 4-2.

This sort of defeat won’t worry them too much though, and neither will the two others in this five match winless streak. They have also lost to Liverpool and Arsenal away from home, but their home draws to Southampton and Stoke will be a cause for minor concern.

In general Stoke are looking like a decent side though. They endured a torrid start to the campaign but eventually turned it around, and at home they have only lost one of their last seven in the Premier League. During this time they have beaten the likes of Sunderland, Swansea, and Burnley as well.

Watford also suffered a high scoring defeat on Sunday as Tottenham completely dominated them in their 4-1 win at Vicarage Road. This made it four games without a win for the Hornets, and they have lost five of their last seven in the Premier League.

The nature of their defeats will be a little harder to take than Stoke’s though. They have been beaten by West Brom, Sunderland, and Stoke in the last seven games, all games which they will feel could have yielded some points.

Away from home it’s even worse for them, with four defeats on the bounce and a huge 12 goals being conceded during this run. This has seen them slide down the table despite a promising opening portion of the season, and they are now in 13th position and just eight points clear of the drop zone.

Stoke’s major issue this season has been the lack of goals from their strikers, but midfielder Joe Allen is doing all he can to help the situation. The Welshman has notched five Premier League goals this season, including four on home soil. This makes him the best choice for our anytime goalscorer predictions at 9/4.

In terms of the overall result you have to fancy Stoke for this one. They’ve had a difficult month or so with their fixture list but it starts to ease up for a while now. Watford are a very beatable side in their current state of form, so odds of 8/11 for a Stoke win look good value to go alongside a 2-1 correct score predictions at 17/2.