Man City win to nil over Stoke is solid investment

Premier League title favourites at 11/10 Manchester City may have lost their previous top-flight home game 1-0 to Chelsea but they have won their other 11 and in formidable fashion.

They have scored an impressive 42 goals and conceded just nine, ensuring that the Etihad is a place that away teams fear going to.

From those 11 victories they have kept clean sheets in six and at 3/4 Manuel Pellegrini’s men can win without conceding as they take on Stoke City.

Having picked up just six points on their travels this term, the Potters along with Crystal Palace and Cardiff have the worst away record in the league.

Mark Hughes’ side have managed just one win on the road, which came at West Ham ground Upton Park back in August, and only mustered 10 goals.

In their nine defeats Stoke have failed to score in seven, so there should be a quiet afternoon for Joe Hart.

History also points to this bet being a success as Stoke have never scored at the Etihad in the Premier League.

From the previous five meetings, City have managed to win the last three 3-0, before that was a 2-0 in 2009 and 3-0 again in Stoke’s first Premier League season in 2008.

It is 6/1 for another repeat of that familiar 3-0 scoreline, with 2-0 at 11/2, 1-0 (8/1) and a 4-0 is 9/1.

This contests looks a case of how many for the Sky Blues, so punters should look at the handicaps market. City are still odds on at 4/9 for -1, give them either a deficit of either two or three goals and be rewarded with prices of 5/4 and 3/1.

Sergio Aguero, who is injured, and Yaya Toure have netted the same amount as Stoke’s season total of 27. With Aguero still missing through injury, Alvaro Negredo heads the first goalscorer market for City at 3/1. He is closely followed by Bosnia’s Edin Dzeko at 7/2 whilst Toure is 6/1.

All in all this should be a straightforward three points for Pellegrini’s side as they look to get their title quest back on track.