Stoke City soar into their double gameweek 34 fresh off the demolition of Bolton in last Sunday’s FA Semi Final. While it is possible they might be distracted by the subsequent Wembley date in May, their mid-table position still only finds them only 5 points clear of relegation, giving them little room for comfort just yet.
Their fixtures are at least favourable for Tony Pulis’ side – Stoke start the gameweek with a trip to face the erratic Aston Villa, before hosting cellar-dwelling Wolves. With tough final three fixtures in front of them, Pulis will be preparing for these two games, knowing full well that three or more points should guarantee their Premier League safety. That could be good news for Fantasy Managers looking to make some short-term recruitments from the Potteries.
The Prospects
Stoke’s home-away performance surpasses the standard Jekyll-Hyde expectations and has been magnified since the beginning of the year. At the Brittania, Stoke have an impressive four wins (EVE, BOL, SUN, and NEW) and two draws (WBA and CHE) since January 1, while they have failed to secure a single point on the road during this same period, losing seven away matches on the spin. Five of their seven clean sheets this season have come at home, with three clean sheets at the Britannia in the six home matches played this year.
A trip to Villa Park looks to be a stiffer test now than earlier in the season. Aston Villa have finally found some attacking form and have recently reinstated their experienced centre-back pairing of James Collins and Richard Dunne in front of veteran keeper Brad Friedel. Goals look certain when Villa are involved; you have to go all the way back to October for the last time they took part in a goalless draw, which, combined with Stoke’s away form, makes a clean sheet for the visitors highly unlikely. Tony Pulis’ side won the first meeting between the teams 2-1, but will go into this one as underdogs.
Stoke then return home to host Wolves in what should be their “bread and butter” fixture of the double gameweek. Wolves won the first meeting on opening day by a score of 2-1, but now sit bottom of the table. Mick McCarthy’s men have struggled badly on the road, losing twelve times and picking up a mere eight points all season.
Although it doesn’t always follow the “book” at this stage of the season, Stoke should score in both games, are likely to lose the first and win the second, and appear to have a chance to claim a clean sheet against Wolves.
The Likely Lads
The highest FPL scorer on the team is Robert Huth. The subject of previous Watchlist articles, Huth has supplemented Stoke’s meagre defensive returns with six goals and three assists in league play (with an additional three goals in the FA Cup competition). The German has also begun to receive greater notice from the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Point judges in the second half of the season, with 10 of his 12 Bonus coming since Boxing Day.
Owned by 9% of the FPL teams even after substantial sell-off in the past few months, Matt Etherington has to be considered a target. After a fiery first half of the season, Etherington has languished some since Boxing Day – there was a string of games starting in gameweek 19 that he failed to complete, followed by a period in February when he missed a few games entirely. The winger now appears to have put the niggling injuries behind and has played the full 90 in the last two league games and in the FA Semi Final. He is currently in strong from, having scored against Tottenham in Stoke’s last league match and snatched the opener against Bolton at the weekend. Although he is now sharing some free kick duties with Jermaine Pennant, Etherington seems likely to resume spot-kick responsibilities and comes at a reduced FPL price of 5.8.
While the secret is now out of the bag, Stoke’s “form” player is unquestionably Jonathan Walters. Classified as a midfielder in the FPL, Walters has been playing up in tandem with striker Kenwyne Jones. The Irish international has six league goals this season and eleven goals in all competitions. In his last three league outings, Walters has been sizzling, with two goals, two assists, and five Bonus points to his name. He looks a certainty for the Villa game and, barring injury, should hold a starting role over both fixtures. We will bring you a full Watchlist article on Walters tomorrow.
Cheeky Punts
At a price of 4.7, Ryan Shawcross is now more than 1.0 cheaper than Huth in the FPL game. With reasonable prospects for a clean sheet, Shawcross and/or goalkeeper Asmir Begovic may be worth a thought as less expensive entry points to the Stoke defence.
Kenwyne Jones has six league goals on the season, a disappointing tally given the anticipated synergy expected when he joined Stoke’s direct aerial attack. However, after a long dry spell, Jones found the net in the last league game before adding another this past weekend at Wembley.
