With seven Gameweeks gone, Tony Pulis’ Stoke hover above mid-table in the Premier League and, apart from a surprise hammering at the hands of Sunderland, have made a relatively solid start to the new season.
Campaign highlights to date include draws against Manchester United and Chelsea as well as a victory over Liverpool though significantly, all three results have come at the Britannia. There’s a stark contrast between their home and away form; faced with much trickier visitors, the Potters have managed (W1 D2 L0 F2 A1), compared with (W1 D1 L2 F2 A7) on the road.
With four of their next six Premier League fixtures at the Britannia (FUL ars NEW bol QPR BLA) and given their ability to reduce the league’s most fertile strikers to impotent flops on home soil, the Stoke backline becomes a promising option in the Gameweeks ahead. These impressive defensive displays are no one-off though; since their promotion to the top flight, Pulis has continually masterminded astute resistance at the Britannia, with (15, 21, 18) home goals conceded in the past three seasons.
Ryan Shawcross is currently top-scoring Fantasy Premier League (FPL) defender for the Potters- his 26 FPL points just pipping Robert Huth on 21. The German’s barnstorming 2010/11 campaign saw him start this season priced at 6.0 to Shawcross’ 5.0 but the summer acquisition of both Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upson has seen a shift in Pulis’ focus.
Huth has been Stoke’s regular right-back this time round, though the last two games have seen him appear from the bench, with Shawcross firmly re-established as the number-one central defensive option at the Britannia. Subsequently, Huth has seen a slight dip in price, dropping 0.1, while Shawcross has risen by the same amount as a result of their respective roles and game time so far.
While Woodgate, who has been ever-present when available, is another option and a potential bargain at 4.5, his fitness will always be a nagging doubt and Fantasy managers will surely be tempted by the guaranteed game time offered by Shawcross in comparison. Shawcross has also shown a knack for picking up bonus points so far this season. Stoke have chalked up three clean sheets already and he’s returned bonus in two of these fixtures, grabbing 2 at home to Chelsea and the maximum away to West Brom.
Over his last two seasons in the Premier League, the former England U21 cap has also chipped in with his fair share at the other end of the pitch – contributing 5 goals and 4 assists. Given his side’s set-piece goal threat, you would expect him to add to that tally sooner rather than later and with such a strong resilience at the back, he makes a significant climb in our newly-updated Watchlist rankings.
