It all seems to have gone horribly wrong for Blackburn over the past fortnight and Stoke can take advantage of their plight on Boxing Day.
The departure of former manager Sam Allardyce was as unexpected as it is inexplicable and the Rovers board have clearly lost the plot. Their dreams of a top five finish are fanciful, and new boss Steve Kean has an enormous task on his hands to steady the ship.
Player disharmony, captain Christopher Samba has already asked to leave Ewood Park, is no surprise and the Blackburn hierarchy should probably take note that the team currently sit closer to the relegation zone than they do the Champions League places.
Blackburn take on Stoke looking to let their football do the talking but it wont be easy against a Tony Pullis team that is always hard to beat and very little separates these two in the current standings.
A win for the Potters would see them rise above Sunday’s hosts in the table and Stoke were on a fine run before coming unstuck at home to Blackpool lat time out. It was five games unbeaten in the top flight, including a memorable 3-0 win at the Hawthorns, and Stoke have generally done OK on their travels this term despite not getting the desired results.
Narrow defeats at Chelsea, Everton an Sunderland, never easy places to pick up points, showed promise while they’ll be looking to make it three unbeaten away from the Britannia after a 2-2 draw at Wigan subsequent to the thrashing of West Brom.
With a decent squad at his disposal, and his own attributes, Pullis knows his men are way too good to go down and, instead of looking over their shoulder, Stoke should have their sights set firmly on a top half finish. That would be another magnificent achievement and Stoke won the reverse fixture on home soil just eight weeks ago.
A John Walters strike proved the difference that day and I’d be hopeful of another clean sheet ofr City. That would guarantee the away side at least a point and backing Stoke in the draw no bet market at odds against looks the way to go.
That’s a 2.38 poke with several firms and appears decent value.
2pts Back Stoke (Draw no Bet, vs. Blackburn) @ 2.38 (various)