Sunderland vs Stoke Betting Tips

Sunderland waited a long time for their first Premier League win of the season, but it couldn’t have come in much sweeter fashion when it did.

They beat arch rivals Newcastle 3-0 after previously going nine matches without a win, six of which were defeats for the struggling Wearside club.

These included some shambolic defensive performances, but the appointment of Sam Allardyce seems to have improved the back line. They did lose 6-2 against Everton, but they have only conceded one in their last two matches.

Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night was only their second clean sheet of the season, and if they can score away from home against a fairly tight Crystal Palace side then they have a good chance against Stoke at home.

Stoke have started to pick up a good amount of wins after a slow start to the season. They have won six of their last nine matches in all competitions, drawing twice and losing once.

However, their loss came at the hands of a struggling Watford side and they could only manage a draw against the out of form Newcastle. This suggests that they struggle with complacency against the lower quality sides.

Despite all their summer signings, Stoke are still struggling up front. They have only scored three goals in their last five outings and have only netted more than once in three of their 14 league matches so far this season.

Sunderland have the added incentive of possibly moving out of the relegation zone with a win on Saturday, whilst Stoke could move from 11^th to as high as 7^th if they get the points.

I think that Sunderland have a good chance. Stoke struggle against the lower quality sides and their attack just doesn’t seem to have the penetration to take advantage of Sunderland’s weak defence. Odds of 4/7 for a Sunderland Win or Draw look good value to me, and I’m going for a 1-1 draw at 11/2 as well.