FA Cup betting – Stoke vs. West Ham

Stoke vs. West Ham betting preview

Stoke

Stoke’s weekend defeat to West Ham has dampened spirits in the Stoke camp and has left them in 12th place in the Premier league but they are by no means safe with only 4 points separating them from the relegation zone. Attention will be turned to this weekend’s FA Cup fixture and Stoke will be itching to get revenge on the Hammers.

Asmir Begovic has quickly overtaken Thomas Sorenson as Stokes number 1 keeper but made a mistake gifting the Senegalese striker Demba Ba a goal, so Begovic will understandably be looking to make amends in this fixture so how about a bet on Stoke keeping a clean sheet at odds of 2.63 on Bet365. Stoke’s main threat understandably comes from the crosses and long throws of Mathew Etherington and Rory Delap meaning that Stokes goals are likely to come from the air, step in club record signing Kenwyne Jones, master of headed goals. Jones is priced at 2.6 on Bet365 to score anytime in the fixture.

West Ham

The Hammers are experiencing an upturn in form and it has only been two months since there were reports of Avhram Grant being sacked and replaced by Martin O’Niell. Will they be focussing on league survival though and forsake the FA Cup? Demba Ba has been on outstanding form since his arrival in the transfer window, with 4 goals in 4 games he must be good value to open the scoring at a price of 8.5 on Bet365.

Since coming back from injury Thomas Hitzlsperger has been in inspirational form, with a goal and an assist in his last two games. Avhram Grant has already come out and said having ‘the aptly named ‘Der Hammer’ back has been like having a new signing at the club. He may not be guaranteed a start so maybe a bet on him scoring the last goal of the fixture could be a good one with odds of 15.0 on Bet365.

This looks set to be a much tighter affair than last week’s game at Upton Park. The Hammers do seem to be riding on a high of late but at home Stoke are a completely different team and could make things very difficult for Grant’s men.

Highlighted Bets:

Home Clean Sheet 2.63 Bet365
Anytime Goalscorer Kenwyne Jones 2.6 Bet365
First Goalscorer Demba Ba 8.5 Bet365
Last Goalscorer Thomas Hitzlsperger 15.0 bet365

By John Fernandez

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