Stoke City v Liverpool, Saturday 16th January

My Thoughts

Quick question: in all competitions, which of these two sides has lost more matches this season?

Answer: Liverpool. Wednesday's FA Cup defeat (if you watched the games, you'll know it couldn't exactly be considered a shock) at home to Reading was their 12th in all competitions so far this season, while Stoke have been vanquished on only 9 occasions thus far this season- a stat that few would have thought possible, never mind expected, after Liverpool's 4-0 win in the reverse fixture in August.

The Verdict
Stoke have a little bit of momentum behind them, having won their last 2 games, scoring 3 times against both Fulham and York City in The FA Cup Sponsored By Enron. Their physical, hoof-it-forward-for-the-frontman-to-chase-and-try-and-win-a-throw-in tactics are not exactly easy on the eye, but Tuncay is, and a home record so far of 5-2-3 is strong enough, and a continuation of it should see them survive comfortably, even without David James, after Tony Pulis pulled out of a possible loan deal for the 39 year old. Liverpool must travel to Stoke without Gerrard and Torres, and are likely to look to David N'Gog to try n'lead the n'frontline, and try and improve on an average 4-1-5 away record. Given Liverpool's depleted attack, and Stoke's good defensive record at the Brittania, don't expect a high-scoring game, and given the two sides' recent form, Stoke will certainly fancy their chances of getting a result. Draw

The Bet
Quite a few options here. The draw can be backed at a best price of 23/10 with totesport. Alternatively, Stoke 1X (also known as Double Chance Stoke/Draw) should be given serious consideration if you're torn between the draw and the home win, available at a best price of 3/4 with expekt.com, although this has been shortened a lot due to outward movement on Liverpool outright, who have gone from 4/7 (which was way too short) to 5/4, which is closer to where they should be. Also take a look at under 2.5 goals (Liverpool have been less than prolific away from home this season even with Gerrard and Torres, while Stoke have never scored a Premier League goal against Liverpool), which is available at a best price of 8/11 with Skybet, and for a slightly more speculative punt, expect a few fairly brutal taclkes coming in from both sets of players-it surely won't take long for the referee to put someone in the book, so stick a cheeky quid on Blue Square's offering at 5/6 that it will take less than 33 minutes