Stoke City made followers a tidy profit on Boxing Day with victory at Blackburn and should follow up at home to Fulham.
Success at Ewood Park propelled the Potters into eighth place in the Premier league and it was strikes from Robert Huth and Mark Wilson that bagged Tony Pullis and his team all three points.
A quick glance at the form guide shows Stoke were beaten the last time they turned out in front of their own fans, a 1-0 loss to this year’s surprises packages Blackpool, but they had taken seven points at the Britannia from their previous three matches, against opposition of the calibre of Manchester City, Liverpool and Birmingham, and I can’t see anything but another home win.
Stoke face a Fulham side in an almighty slump at present and a 3-1 defeat at Craven Cottage to bottom of the table West Ham 48 hours ago was alarming. Mark Hughes’ side have now won just four times in the top flight since February and are clearly embroiled in a desperate relegation struggle.
That run now stretches 29 matches and without an away success since a 1-0 at Portsmouth in August 2009, anything other than a resounding triumph for Tuesday’s hosts would be a shock.
You never quite now how a team will cope with the punishing Christmas schedule but Welsh boss Pullis has a squad full of quality to choose from and it would be no surprise were he to freshen things up with a change or two.
The spine of the team should remain in tact however, with Kenwyne Jones spearheading the attack, and Stoke look superior in every department.
Having beaten Fulham the last three times these sides have met, Pullis will know exactly what is required to emerge victorious once more and prices nudging very close to even money on Betfair are impossible to resist.
The visitors are clearly low on confidence and an early Stoke strike could well open the floodgates.
3pts Back Stoke (vs. Fulham) @ 1.93 (Betfair)