Soccer Saturday – Manchester City vs. Stoke City
Manchester City are sixth in the table, six points shy of a place in the top four. The Citizens are coming off a hard fought 4:3 victory over Sunderland last weekend. Stoke City meanwhile lost 1:0 to Aston Villa on the away.
Soccer Betting Line:
Manchester City -1 -135 -225 3 O +120 U -140 Draw +325
Stoke City +1 +115 +650 3 O +120 U -140 Draw +325
Match Time: 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time Saturday December 29, 2009
Venue: City of Mcr. Stadium
Soccer Betting Verdict: Manchester City are enjoying an undefeated run at home in their last seven. They extended their streak with a dramatic win over Sunderland on Saturday. The seven-goal thriller was highlighted by Roque Santa Cruz’s winning goal in the 69th minute – five minutes after Jones levelled the score for Sunderland.
Mark Hughes fought hard to get Cruz from Blackburn Rovers to Man City. Seems like he knew what he was doing. Hughes also made the gutsy decision to drop underperforming duo Robinho and Adebayor (about time if you ask me especially where the former was concerned).
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Indeed, Hughes has done a lot to shape and build the squad. And on Saturday, as he watched his Citizens rip apart the Black Cats with undisguised pride, they were a credit to him as a manager. So it is not without some surprise the news of his sacking is received.
The Citizens are looking ahead to life without Mark Hughes as Roberto Mancini is set to take over the reins on Boxing Day. How this change is going to affect the locker room is anybody’s guess. Things are a little shaky in their camp but good news is that they are still performing well at home – albeit not at title-race level.
Stoke City can be a frustrating outfit to play against at the best of times. They are not enjoying the best of times right now though. They are 11th in the table on 21 points after 17 cycles. In their last six they have been inconsistent, hauling five points with a 1-2-3 mark. On the road, they are after back-to-back losses.
Soccer Free Picks: Man City have no excuse not to win this match. They have home edge as well as “on paper “edge. The future might be a little uncertain right now with all the ins and outs in their camp, but they have to focus on what matters most: winning matches. Man City at -225 is the better play. Stoke City are a long shot bet, so much so that I would recommend avoiding them on the money line.
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