Stoke will be looking to kick on when they host Huddersfield in an Easter Monday afternoon clash at the bet365 Stadium.
A timely 2-0 win away to Hull on Good Friday bolstered their survival hopes, lifting them to 17th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone.
Steven Schumacher made six changes for Stoke’s first game following the international break, including naming Enda Stevens, who was making his first start since December after a three-and-a-half month injury lay-off. While it can be risky chopping and changing, it was a gamble that ultimately paid off.
In stark contrast, Huddersfield were torn apart by Coventry as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home, leaving them marooned in trouble.
With just seven games remaining of the campaign for both sides, this feels like something of a six-pointer.
But who will prevail? I have delved into the betting markets and handpicked a couple of tips for you to mull over ahead of the game.
Huddersfield made to look like an April Fool
At this stage of the campaign, some teams will feel like they are quicksand or trying to swim against the current.
The tide has felt extremely strong for Huddersfield, and some poor performances have let them down. Their last victory arrived in February courtesy of a 2-1 win away to Watford.
But the past few weeks have seen Huddersfield on the receiving end of some heavy defeats, including a 3-1 reverse against Coventry and a 4-1 hammering at home to West Brom.
Stoke, on the other hand, appear to be a more cohesive unit, and they don’t look like a team at the wrong end of the table. Indeed, they have been in more encouraging form, picking up three wins from their past five Championship outings.
Moreover, Stoke have had the better of it against Huddersfield on their own patch, tasting victory in each of their past three encounters, with the last defeat arriving in October 2019.
Huddersfield have been far from convincing, and I think Stoke will put some more distance between themselves and the bottom three.
I was rather intrigued by the score in both halves market advertised by Paddy Power, and I located short odds of 11/5 for Stoke to fulfil that line.
Josh Laurent to provide the platform for victory
While Josh Laurent has been far from prolific this term, the penny seems to have dropped him.
After getting himself into decent positions over the past few weeks, he provided a real energy for Stoke against Hull, and he got on the scoresheet.
Although it was only his first league goal of the term, the importance of it shouldn’t be understated.
Stoke should get ample chances against a struggling Huddersfield, and as he did against Hull, I think Laurent could break the deadlock and provide the platform for the win.
To round things off, I’m going with Laurent to net the opening goal of the game which is available at a tempting 11/1 with bet365.
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