Tonight’s Stoke v Besiktas UEFA Europa League clash will be one that both teams enter in an exhausted state playing in their 4th match in 10 days. Such is life when you’re successful and competing on multiple front and surely neither team will cease from the opportunity that is present in Group E to qualify over Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Tony Pulis is not happy with the schedule handed down to his team, but he should nevertheless chase the victory at home against a dangerous Besiktas side
Stoke City v Besiktas
Aside from the freaky loss to Sunderland, Stoke have achieved quite the unimaginable over the past several weeks. They have beat Liverpool, knocked out Tottenham from the Carling Cup and gave Manchester United their first point loss of the season. Whether they can repeat their success in the Europa League however as their Match Day 1 performance at Dynamo Kiev was looking solid until the very last minute when they conceded an equalizer. Stoke hasn’t had problems playing at home in European games this eyar with three wins and one draw in their four previous European matches at Britannia. Jonathan Woodgate, Kenwyne Jones and Marc Wilson won’t be fit to play for Tony Pulis who might also consider resting some of his players from the Man Utd game as a serious case of exhaustion could otherwise creep into this hard fighting side. Peter Crouch should be a dangerous threat against Besiktas, who are known to be susceptible to set pieces.
Besiktas started their season with a 2-1 loss at Eskisehirspor but have since gone on to win their next 4 matches. A 5-1 win against Maccabi Tel Aviv has fired up the side as the political tension between Turkey and Israel was evident heading into that showdown. Besiktas has some star players like former Real Madrid midfielder Guti, but the Istanbul club faces injuries to Almeida, Quaresma, Ibrahim Toraman and Ersan Gulum. Tony Pulis doesn’t expect Besiktas to be rattled by the atmosphere at Britannia considering the Turkish league is full of such hostile ambiances. New manager Carlos Carvalhal has done a fine job getting his men to play together in a cohesive fashion, something that wasn’t always the case last season under Tayfur.
For punters keen to bet on Stoke v Besiktas, odds place Stoke City as 4/5 favorites while Besiktas stand as 7/2 underdogs. Our Stoke City v Besiktas prediciton however for the match to end in a draw as Besiktas will likely enter the game happy with a draw and not try to break down the relentless Stoke defense – you can bet on the draw at 5/2 on Bet365.
If you want to watch Stoke vs Besiktas live, you will need to tune in at 20:05 BST for this first ever meeting between the two clubs. Let us know your Stoke v Besiktas score prediction in the comments below.
Loading ...
Comments