EPL Odds: Man U Look To Extend Streak vs Stoke

Stoke City (+525) vs Manchester United (-160), Draw (+315)

Manchester United (11-7-3, 40 points) will take to Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday (January 21) to face Stoke City (7-6-8, 27 points) in the 22nd fixture of the English Premier League.

Mourinho’s Manchester United may be out of title contention thanks to a slow start, but that hasn’t stopped them from putting on a show for us lately. The Red Devils are unbeaten in their last 12 in the league, one game away from equaling Chelsea’s run from earlier in the season. Of course, the difference is that Chelsea won 13 consecutive games while United have drawn almost as many as they have won during their current streak.

After their 1-1 draw against rivals Liverpool last week, the general consensus on their star transfer Paul Pogba has flipped once again. Just when you thought the criticism over his record-breaking transfer fee was dying down, his sluggish and ineffective performance last week brought the critics back out in full force.

But disregarding last week’s performance, Pogba has been a crucial part of United’s recent success. His ability to control the midfield and create play isn’t captured by the statistics but is nevertheless vital to United.

Speaking of controversial signings, 2015-16’s big-money transfer, Memphis Depay, is officially off to Lyon after failing spectacularly at United. After a season of misspent hype and misspent money, United have finally decided to cut their losses and ship the cocky striker back to Ligue 1.

That will give United some extra spending money during the next transfer period, and it is rumored that Mourinho has his eyes set on Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann.

Like United, Stoke stumbled out of the gate this season. It took them eight rounds to land their first league win. But since then they have exceeded expectations. They are currently in 9th place, which is where they have finished in the standings for the last three years. That’s quite an achievement given the club’s size and finances.

Stoke have established themselves as a team that can punch above its weight, especially when playing at home. In their last three Premier League home games against United, Stoke have drawn one and won two. At +325 odds, I think it’s worth giving Stoke a shot at holding down the United attack and forcing a draw.

Pick: Draw (+315)

Photo credit: “Stoke City FC V Arsenal 49” by Ronnie Macdonald, CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.