Southampton v Stoke

Southampton vs Stoke Preview

Southampton's hopes of nicking the second automatic promotion spot in the Championship have all but evaporated in recent games following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Cardiff City and Leicester City, the latter being a particularly heavy 5-0 thrashing to The Foxes at the King Power Stadium, while Stoke City boosted their survival hopes in the Championship last weekend with a 3-0 home win against Plymouth Argyle.

Southampton now need to win both of their remaining two games and hope Leeds United slip up in order for the south coast club to have even an outside chance of achieving automatic promotion and this upcoming clash with Stoke City along with what could prove to be a pivotal final game of the season away at Leeds United will determine Southampton's fate.

The Saints had previously posted three wins on the trot in the English second tier with vital wins registered against Coventry City, Watford and Preston NE in 2-1, 3-2 and 3-0 victories respectively which had seemingly set Southampton's promotion push back on course.

Each of these three aforementioned wins were achieved on home soil at their St Mary's Stadium where the south coast club have lost just twice in their last 18 games along with collecting no fewer than 14 wins along the way.

Stoke City helped relieve some pressure in their battle against possible relegation with a comprehensive 3-0 home win against Plymouth Argyle but with two games remaining and just four points above the bottom three clubs, The Potters still have some work to do and they face a tough assignment in this upcoming trip to face high-flying Southampton on Saturday.

League wins have been achieved on a sporadic rather than on a regular basis where Stoke City have been concerned as the visitors have managed to capture just five wins out of their last 17 games overall in the Championship and having won three of these five wins on home soil at their bet365 Stadium, Stoke City's prospects of claiming a win on the road at Southampton seem slim at best.

Indeed, Stoke City have recorded just two wins from their last eight outings on the road which were at Preston NE and Hull City but The Potters have also slipped to five defeats in the process as well with four of these five losses seeing Stoke concede two goals or more which does not bode well for this trip down to the south coast.

Southampton v Stoke City Verdict

In what is Southampton's last home game of this Championship campaign, the hosts will be desperate to pick up all three points here against an ordinary looking Stoke City outfit on the road, especially as Southampton boast an impressive home record.

Therefore, our main bet will be Southampton win @ 1.72

Other side bets worth considering:

Southampton win & Under 3.5 goals @ 3.00

Correct Score: Southampton 2-0 @ 10.00