Stoke – Nottingham, English League Championship
2004-09-18 16.00 CET
Pick: Stoke
Stake: 2%
Odds: 1,90
Final reasons
Highflying Stoke is one of the biggest surprises in the English League Championship so far this season. Now they are up against Nottingham, a team that so far has underperformed. Nottingham’s struggle is mainly caused by a lot of injuries in the defensive line. Stoke has played some very good games so far and deserves to sit at the top of the league. However, since Nottingham seldom looses games and that they probably are better than their position we go for a small stake, 2%.
General comment about the game
League leaders Stoke has impressed very much so far this season. Few thought they should be at the top after eight rounds. They have a very competent first eleven that are able to compete against the best. In goal they have former Dutch international Ed de Goey, the back four is commanded by experienced Gerry Taggert and up front they have top striker Ade Akinbiyi that most certainly will produce the goods. If their first eleven can manage to stay injury free they might have an opportunity to fight for the top places. However, it is not realistic to believe that they will not suffer from injuries during a whole season so they better keep up the good work when they can. Their main problem, as in last year, is that they lack competent back up in their squad. The club do not have the money to strengthen enough meaning that they also this year have a relatively thin squad. However, three new signings have been made that ease things up a bit and that is midfielder Dave Brammer (8 apps) from Crewe, promising goalkeeper Steve Simonsen (0(1) apps) from Everton and last week they completed the signing of midfielder Steve Guppy from Leicester (0(1) apps). With four wins from four games at home so far it is hard not to get impressed by Stoke and the last game when they played at home against Ipswich and turned 1-2 to a 3-2 victory is really an evidence of good moral. However it was Ipswich that started best and they were close to score quite immediately, but they did not succeed until the 41st minute, but Stoke replied directly and it was 1-1 at halftime. After 62 minutes Ipswich made their second goal before Stoke turned the game to victory. Stoke will be without defender John Halls (7 apps, 1 goal) and midfielder Lewis Neal (3(2) apps, 0 goals) tomorrow.
Nottingham Forest is a team that was supposed to be in the upper part of the table this season. However, so far things have really not been that brilliant for them, much depending on injuries in the defensive line. Still they await their first win of the season and of course five points so far is not good enough for a promotion candidate. Last round Nottingham played away to Sunderland and lost 2-0 after Sunderland making two goals before eleven minutes had passed. After the impressing Sunderland start both sides had chances to score but it was always Sunderland that was the better side. In the match before Sunderland, Nottingham was up against struggling Cardiff in a game that they really aimed to win. However although being slightly better in a quite dull affair they did not manage to score. As boss Joe Kinnear said after the game; It is apparent that we get nervous when we are up for the final pass, and then it is hard to get the goals. Cardiff was pleased with the result since they had done one of the best games so far this season. As mentioned Nottingham has been hit by injuries in the defensive line up so far this season, and they are still not able to field their strongest back four line. To this game the following defenders are unavailable: Matthieu Louis Jean (5 apps, 1 goal), Jon Olav-Hjelde (6 apps, 0 goals), Michael Dawson (0 apps, 0 goals) and John Thompson (0 apps, 0 goals). Also out with injuries are forwards Craig Westcarr (0 apps, 0 goals) and forward Kevin James (0(1) apps, 0 goals). The only positive news for Nottingham ahead is that striker Gareth Taylor (5 apps, 2 goals) is back from suspension.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-09-14 |
Stoke-Ipswich |
3-2 |
|
2004-09-11 |
Preston-Stoke |
3-0 |
|
2004-08-30 |
Stoke-Derby |
1-0 |
|
2004-08-28 |
Cardiff-Stoke |
0-1 |
|
2004-08-21 |
Stoke-Gillingham |
2-0 |
Recent games for away team
|
2004-09-14 |
Sunderland–Nottingham |
2-0 |
|
2004-09-11 |
Nottingham-Cardiff |
0-0 |
|
2004-08-30 |
Plymouth-Nottingham |
3-2 |
|
2004-08-28 |
Nottingham-Coventry |
1-4 |
|
2004-08-21 |
Leeds-Nottingham |
1-1 |
Home table
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Stoke |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
8-3 |
12 |
Away table
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Nottingham |
4 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4-7 |
2 |
Links for this game
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// SportsObserver 040917
