The Potters travel to Molineux this weekend in the season opener and, after a solid pre-season, will be hoping to grab three points from this Staffordshire Derby.
Wolves are slight favourites for the opening game and are available at 7/5 with Extrabet, Betdaq and WBX. The Potters can be backed at 23/10 with Victor Chandler. The best price for a draw is with Totesport who are offering odds of 23/10.
Stoke will want to take all 3 points back across Staffordshire and a tight 1-0 win is available at 8/1 with Victor Chandler, Blue Square and 888sport. With the added power of Jones up front, a 2-0 win for Stoke is available at 16/1 with SkyBet, Blue Square and 888sport. Stoke have only beaten Wolves twice away from home in the past 15 years. On both occasions, The Potters bagged 4 goals and you can get odds at 250/1 for Stoke to win 4-2 with bwin.
Wolves have a good home record against Stoke, but The Potters will not make it easy for them. A 1-0 home win is available at 7/1 with Stan James, Ladbrokes and Coral. The same fixture last season saw the sides draw blanks and a repeat of the 0-0 scoreline is being offered at odds of 8/1 with Stan James, Ladbrokes and Coral. Both sides will be desperate not to lose their first game. An action-packed game finishing 2-2 has SkyBet and William Hill offering odds of 18/1.
Stoke will be hoping record-signing, Kenwyne Jones, can bag a brace on his debut. You can get odds of 8/1 with Blue Square, Victor Chandler and bwin for Jones to open the scoring. Fuller is at 7’s whilst Shawcross is at 25’s with bwin and Ladbrokes to open The Potters’ account.
Steven Fletcher is the bookies favourite to score first this weekend and he is available at 13/2 with SkyBet. Although he is a doubt for the game, Kevin Doyle, is hotly tipped and he is also available at 13/2 with SkyBet. Jody Craddock saved Wolves two precious points last season at the Britannia and you can get him 33/1 with Stan James and Willam Hill.
Fancy predicting what time the first goal will arrive? Well you can get odds of 14/5 with Sporting Bet that a goal will come in the first 15 minutes. If you think a goal will ruin the manager’s half-time team-talk then Bet365 and SkyBet are offering odds of 7/1 that a goal will be scored between 41 and 50 minutes. SkyBet are giving you odds of 18/1 that the first goal will be scored between the 81st minute and Full Time. And finally, maybe neither team will score. Stan James and Boyle Sports both have odds of 8/1 for the game to end goalless.
Predicting a score cast can really boost your potential winnings. Blue Square and 888sport are offering you odds of 6/1 that Kenwyne Jones will score first and Stoke will win the game. Fuller to score first at Stoke to win is available at 11/2 with Blue Square and 888sport.
Steven Fletcher and Kevin Doyle are both at 7/2 to score first and Wolves win the game with Paddy Power.
If you fancy your chances of winning an accumulator this weekend then why not put £10 on a 6 fold with Bet365. I’ve gone for Everton, Stoke, Derby, Shrewsbury, Huddersfield and Brighton. A £10 stake will see a healthy return of £1,115.
Cheers,
Scott Richards