Sports Blog 18/04/2016: Premier League Preview – Stoke vs Tottenham, Monday 18th April 2016

Following that minor slip-up from Leicester at the weekend can Tottenham move within 5 points of the league leaders with a win over Stoke at 8pm on Sky Sports 1?

You would imagine Spurs fans are just as angry at referee Jon Moss as West Ham fans are following that 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium on Sunday. Not only did that contentious 95th minute penalty, converted by Leonardo Ulloa, give Leicester a vital point and damage the Hammers’ push for 5th place, it also snuffed out Tottenham’s opportunity to move 3 points away from the top of the table.

However Mauricio Pochettino’s side can still keep on the pressure on Leicester with a victory over Stoke. The start of April saw Spurs suffer their own disappointment, drawing 1-1 at Anfield, Harry Kane cancelling out Philippe Coutinho’s 2nd half opener. Yet Tottenham more than made up for that missed opportunity a week later, ending a 15 year winless run against Manchester United at White Hart Lane with an emphatic 3-0 victory thanks to a trio of goals from Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Eric Lamela.



Absent from that score sheet, but still the club’s undoubted star, is Harry Kane, who heads into tonight’s game at a Super Mega PGM of 49-57. With Jamie Vardy potentially suspended for Leicester’s next game Spurs’ trip to Stoke is the perfect time for Kane to stake his claim for the Golden Boot, especially since, with both players on 22 goals, Vardy has 6 assists to Kane’s 1.

Whilst Tottenham flirt with league winning, Golden Boot-grabbing form, Stoke are chasing a strong top half of the table finish. However they suffered a setback last Sunday, on the receiving end of their own battering as they lost 4-1 at Anfield, leaving them 4 points adrift of Liverpool in 9th place.

Yet Mark Hughes’ side can still make their presence felt when they play at the Britannia Stadium, the site of wins against Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United so far this season. Marko Arnautovic was vital in all 3 of those victories, scoring 4 of Stoke’s 5 goals, and Hughes will be hoping that the Austrian, the club’s top scorer this season with 11 goals and a Super Mega PGM of 10-14, can re-find that magic for Monday’s match.

Whilst the Potters have shown up the big boys at the Britannia a few times this season Spurs simply have too much to lose this Monday evening, leading our Spreadex traders to offer a Tottenham/Stoke (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.75-0.95 with a Total Goals spread of 2.55-2.75.

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