Stoke City vs Aston Villa Predictions

Aston Villa’s push for the playoffs has taken a hit of late, with consecutive defeats leaving them seven points shy of sixth-placed Bristol City, who have played two games fewer. They head to Stoke in this clash looking to get things back on track, but repairing that damage is going to be tough. After a poor run of form, they’re heading into this clash at Stoke on a low ebb, and now they need to turn things around before time runs out on their top six push. Can they claim a result in this clash?

Stoke are struggling for results, and it hasn’t been the easiest job for Nathan Jones. The hosts are currently five games without a win, and they drew 1-1 at bottom side Ipswich last weekend. That result only added to the pressure on the current boss, who has barely taken his seat in the dugout. He’s inherited a mess, with the Potters building a side ready for a promotion push, only to fail disastrously on the pitch. With a team who are out of form, will the hosts be able to claim a result in this home clash?

This is a game in which both sides will be targeting a return to form, but it’s hard to have any faith in either of these two. The pair have had major troubles this season, with the visitors’ recent slump putting their playoff ambitions in jeopardy. They have a lot of work to do in order to close the gap on the leading sides, and little that they’ve done of late has suggested that Villa are capable of making the top six, never mind winning them.

The improvement after Dean Smith’s arrival was stark, but it has faded away. Aston Villa scored 25 goals in their first 11 Championship games under Dean Smith – they’ve scored 11 goals in their subsequent 10 games. That’s really hit them on the road, as Villa are the only Championship team yet to score an away league goal during 2019. That’s brought an awful run of form, and they’ve seen under 2.5 goals land in four of their last five trips.

Stoke are in a similar place, scoring once in their last five games. Their last five games have seen under 2.5 goals land, while they’ve seen less than three goals in 69% of their matches at their own ground this season. With both sides looking shy up front and with an awful form behind them, we’re going with a low scoring clash here. Under 2.5 goals is our tip, along with a low-scoring draw.