The English Premier League continues this weekend after the international break, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Manchester City vs. Stoke City and Swansea City vs. Huddersfield Town matches. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and join the action at Get More Sports.
Manchester City vs. Stoke City
Three-Way: 1: Man City -435; X: +844 Draw; 2: Stoke City +2250
Spread -2.5: Man City +112; Stoke City -116
Total +3.5: Over -114; Under +110
MANCHESTER CITY
The Citizens are on an eight-match winning streak and they seem unstoppable at the moment, so it is no wonder why they are one of the biggest favorites to lift the Premier League title. Man City was victorious in the latest derby at Stamford Bridge when Kevin De Bruyne sank Chelsea and brought crucial three points to his team, even though they were without top scorer Sergio Aguero. Pep Guardiola’s squad is in the first position with 19 points, but their city rivals Man United are right behind them, so it looks that two Manchester teams will fight for the trophy. However, there are 31 games left to be played and the season is long, so City cannot relax for a second as the competition in the EPL is pretty tough.
Man City played ten games so far in the 2017/18, recording nine wins and only one draw, with a goal difference of 30:3, which is 3.3 goals per contest on average. When it comes to home games at Etihad, the Citizens won three and drew against Everton, but they allowed just one goal, so Stoke will have a mountain to climb in order to avoid a defeat on Saturday. City is without a loss to the Potters in the previous three encounters, while they didn’t concede in the last two meetings at Etihad.
Sergio Aguero is the team’s leading scorer with seven goals to his name, but he was involved in a car crash in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago, and after fracturing his ribs, the Argentinean is forced to miss a month. That is not a severe problem for Guardiola as he has other players who can jump in and score goals in Aguero’s absence, and Gabriel Jesus is first in the line to lead the attack against Stoke. He and Leroy Sane scored five goals each thus far, while Raheem Sterling has been excellent with six goals. David Silva is City’s best assist-maker with eight, while Kevin De Bruyne has four assists, and the midfield duo should run the show for the Citizens when they face the Potters this weekend. The captain Vincent Kompany is out with a calf injury, while Benjamin Mendy will probably miss the remainder of the season with cruciate ligament rupture.
STOKE CITY
The Potters bounced back following a poor streak of five matches without a victory with a 2-1 win over Southampton, and are now in the 13th position with eight points. That win came as a big relief for Mark Hughes, and he will not be under pressure to get a positive result at Etihad, which can be quite dangerous for Man City. The Welsh manager could return and haunt the former team, and will surely be motivated to spoil Pep Guardiola’s plans. Stoke already snatched a 2-2 draw against Man United this season, and beat Arsenal, so Man City are far from a secure win.
Stoke played nine games in the 2017/18 Premier League season, recording three victories, two draws, and four losses, with a goal difference of 11:13, which is slightly over 2.6 goals per contest on average. However, Stoke are playing very bad away from the bet365 Stadium as they suffered three defeats in four matches and scored just two goals. In the previous five duels with the Citizens at Etihad, Stoke managed to win once and to record a draw, so they cannot be underestimated on Saturday.
The 36-year-old veteran striker Peter Crouch is the team’s top scorer with three goals, and his significance was evident in the latest match against Southampton when Crouchie scored a game-winning goal in the 85th minute. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Joe Allen have a pair of goals to their respective names, while Xherdan Shaqiri, Allen, and Erik Pieters added two assists each. Allen suffered a concussion in the WC qualification clash when he played for Wales against Ireland and is doubtful to face Man City, while centre-backs Bruno Martins Indi and Ryan Shawcross will likely miss the game, so Hughes may opt to field three at the back again. Kevin Wimmer, Geoff Cameron, and Kurt Zouma could all start.
Manchester City vs. Stoke City – Match Prediction
City scored “just” three goals in the last two outings and they will miss Aguero here, but if they score an early goal, Stoke will find it difficult to escape Etihad unbeaten. The visitors are struggling away from home, so I don’t believe they will score against the best defense in the league.
MY PICK: Both teams to score NO (-102)
Swansea City vs. Huddersfield Town
Three-Way: 1: Swansea +127; X: +240 Draw; 2: Huddersfield Town +300
Spread -0.5: Swansea City +124; Huddersfield Town -127
Total +2: Over -102; Under +102
SWANSEA CITY
The Swans have only one victory in the Premier League so far and they are in the relegation zone with just five points after seven rounds. They suffered two consecutive defeats in the league, but the situation is better in the Carabao Cup, where Swansea eliminated MK Dons and Reading to reach the 1/8 finals. However, the latest loss to West Ham in the dying moments of the tilt certainly hurt them and it looks that Swansea might bounce back against Huddersfield at home.
Swansea played nine games in the 2017/18 Premier League campaign so far, recording three wins, two draws, and four defeats, with a goal difference of 9:9, which is exactly two goals per contest on average. The home form is somewhat problematic for the Swans, as they suffered three losses in three matches, scoring only one goal in the process. Huddersfield is not in the best form themselves, so Swansea probably looks closer to victory than their opponents.
Jordan Ayew and Tammy Abraham are currently the team’s leading scorers with three goals each, while the Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer has a couple of goals to his name. The returnee Wilfried Bony is struggling to put his name on the score-sheet in the previous five displays, but Paul Clement will likely stick to him as he doesn’t have better options on the bench. This encounter could be Bony’s opportunity to shine, so he can turn out to be a match-winner here. Kyle Bartley and Nathan Dyer are the only injured players for the hosts so Clement can field his usual starting eleven.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
The Terriers are in a poor form of six matches without a win, and they are in the 11th place on the Premier League table with nine points, even though they entered the season with seven points out of the first three games. They failed to score in the previous three outings, while the 0-4 home loss to Tottenham proved that Huddersfield has a lot to do in order to keep their Premier League status.
Huddersfield played nine games so far in this campaign, recording three wins, three draws, and three losses, with a goal difference of 7:9, which is just 1.8 goals per contest on average. Considering stats of both teams, it would be surprising to see more than two goals at Liberty Stadium on Saturday. Huddersfield recorded one win in away games, but they didn’t score in the last three away from John Smith’s Stadium, but Swansea are playing badly at home, so the outcome of this encounter is practically impossible to predict.
Steve Mounie is the team’s top scorer with two goals to his name, but he missed the previous three matches with a heel bone injury and is doubtful to feature against Swansea. The Terriers are toothless without a former Montpellier man to lead their attack, and if he manages to play here, Swansea defenders will have more work to do to stop them from scoring. Collin Quaner is also close to returning to the pitch as he’s recovering from a calf injury, while Kasey Palmer will be sidelined for a further month with a hamstring injury.
Swansea City vs. Huddersfield Town – Match Prediction
Both teams are struggling in front of the goal recently and I don’t consider this tilt as a potentially high-scoring affair.
MY PICK: Under 2 goals (+102)
