Stoke City vs Fulham

May 2, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Stoke will be looking to cement their place in the top half of the Premier League standings as well as push Fulham closer to relegation to the Championship. After squandering a great chance to escape the bottom three against Hull City, the Cottagers will be under tremendous pressure to win at Britannia.

Mark Hughes enjoys a successful season

The main reason why club chiefs decided to sack long-serving coach Tony Pulis and appoint Mark Hughes in his place was to try and shake off the ‘long-ball team’. Transforming the side’s style of play while ensuring the Potters remain above the danger zone was never going to be an easy task, but with just two games to go we can safely say Mark Hughes has passed his test with flying colours. The seamless transition has seen Stoke climb to tenth in the Premiership standings and they are now in a position to secure the first ever top half finish since gaining promotion to the elite division. The likes of Stephen Ireland, Marko Arnautovic, Peter Crouch and Peter Odemwingie have all managed to kick-start their career under the guidance of Mark Hughes and no doubt they will be looking to end the season on a high. Having won four straight Premier League fixtures at home before suffering a narrow defeat to Tottenham, Stoke City look a good bet to see off under-pressure Fulham, even if they will be without two important defenders.

Ryan Shawcross misses out through suspension, whilst Robert Huth and Mathew Etherington remain on the sidelines.

Costly slip up against Hull City

Fulham did themselves no favours with their performances this season and while the team did show a considerable improvement under Felix Magath, it looks as though they won’t be able to survive the drop after all. And while not too many people expected the Cottagers to get anything from White Hart Lane despite back to back triumphs over Aston Villa and Norwich, Fulham had an excellent chance to leave the relegation zone as they played host to Hull City. And the team looked on course to record an invaluable victory having scored two early goals in the second period, but they squandered a two-goal lead and had to settle for a 2-2 draw in the end. The result will have acted as a major blow to the players’ confidence seeing as how it left them in the relegation zone ahead of the final two matches against Stoke City and Crystal Palace. And while some would suggest the fact their opponents have already secured survival will make life easier for Fulham, it is precisely in these kinds of games that the pressure will be exclusively on the Cottagers, and this is not a great position to be in when you are extremely low on spirits.

Felix Magath faces an anxious wait over the fitness of key midfielder Steve Sidwell, while January signing Kostas Mitroglou is doubtful as well. Damien Duff is definitely out.

Verdict

Boasting the best home record outside the top 6 and having won four of last five home matches, Stoke City can be trusted to pour more misery on the team that have lost 12 of 18 away fixtures. And with Fulham under extreme pressure at the moment, the Potters should have no problems winning this game.

Top pick: Home win   2.38 (11/8) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Under 2.5 goals   1.91 (10/11) @ Coral

Alternative pick 2: Stoke to win to nil   4.33 (10/3) @ SkyBet

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