Stoke came really close to shocking Tottenham at White Hart Lane, but the Potters were denied a victory by conceding a late, late goal. The Potters now aim to put a dent into Manchester City’s title hopes, after Chelsea failed to do so despite taking the lead through Gary Cahill.

Lucky, lucky Stoke

Stoke City once again proved they are a tough nut to crack as the Potters brought one point from White Hart Lane, although they were very fortunate not to lose the game after being completely outclassed by their more illustrious opponents. The fact that Spurs had 18 shots on target as opposed to Stoke’s 2 can give you a clear picture of how the game unfolded and another such performance could cost the Potters precious points against resurgent Manchester City. It is more than evident that Tony Pulis’ men are tired from playing almost 50 games in all competitions this season and while they are unlikely to enter the relegation struggle, Stoke will struggle to keep their results respectable during the season finale. Just three days after the difficult game at White Hart Lane, the Potters are set to host title chasers Manchester City and needless to say they will have to be at their best if they plan to stop the Citizens from winning this game.

Salif Diao misses out through injury, while Ricardo Fuller serves the final match of his three-game ban.

It was high time Samir Nasri shone

Having entered the Chelsea game on the back of disappointing Europa League exit and away defeat to Swansea, Manchester City were tipped to experience problems against resurgent Chelsea, but while the scoreline may suggest the game was close, that was definitely not the case as the Citizens largely dominated the encounter. Besides enjoying a lion’s share of possession, City had 20 shots on goal as opposed to Chelsea’s six and their victory never came into question. The home fans suffered a real scare when the Blues took the lead through Gary Cahill on the hour mark, but Roberto Mancini’s side showed a real character and managed to turn the tie around, mostly thanks to Samir Nasri. The Frenchman finally showed what he was capable of after largely struggling to rediscover his form since arriving from Arsenal in the summer, whereas Carlos Tevez returned into action in style as he set up Nasri for the last-gasp winner. The atmosphere in the team has improved considerably after the morale-boosting victory over Chelsea and we, therefore, have got to consider City favourites to beat Stoke as well.

Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott could return to the side, in which case Roberto Mancini would have fully fit squad to choose from.

Verdict

Stoke were very fortunate not to lose at White Hart Lane and with Potters currently running on empty, they cannot be expected to stop high-flying Manchester City. The Citizens proved their title ambitions by beating Chelsea and they can be trusted to win at Britannia.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 1.65 (13/20)

Bookmaker: 188BET