Sports Blog 12/03/2018: Premier League Preview – Stoke vs Manchester City, Monday 12th March 2018

Will Man City take another step towards the Premier League title when they travel to Stoke, at 8pm on Sky Sports?

It is now less a question of if City will win their 3rd Premier League title, but when. And while they can’t seal the deal this Monday, a victory at the bet365 Stadium would see their 16 point lead at the top of the table restored and leave them on track to potentially shoot out of reach before the month is out.



Not that the club are completely infallible. Their attention has wandered in a few games against sides that, on paper, they should have absolutely hammered, most recently last week’s shock 2-1 home defeat to Basel. Admittedly, that was only City’s 4th defeat of the season – however it does show a potentially patronising approach to certain fixtures that may provide Stoke with the chance to nab an unlikely upset.

And boy could the Potters use it. Paul Lambert’s men currently find themselves stuck in the relegation zone, one point behind 17th place Southampton with a crucial game in hand. Granted, that game in hand is against the champions-elect, but it’s better than nothing.

Since Lambert took over Stoke haven’t actually been too bad, with 1 loss, 1 win and 4 draws in 6 league games. However a lack of firepower going forwards – Xherdan Shaqiri, at a Super Mega PGM of 9-13 with just 7 goals, is their top scorer – has prevented them from turning those draws into some potentially season-saving wins.

Goals, of course, are far from an issue for City. Yet they will be without Sergio Aguero on Monday, the Argentine suffering the latest setback on his journey to 200 goals for the club after picking up a knee injury midweek. It’s likely his absence will only give Gabriel Jesus more room to shine; he goes into the game at a Super Mega PGM of 59-69, ahead of Raheem Sterling at 35-41 and Leroy Sane at 32-38.

Last time these 2 sides met, Pep Guardiola and co. romped to a ridiculous 7-2 victory, the highest scoring game of the season so far. Given that goal difference may play a role in the relegation battle the Potters would do well to keep deficit a bit smaller this time round, with Spreadex offering a Man City/Stoke (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 1.9-2.1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.15-3.35.