Brighton & Hove Albion could be in for a difficult time as they travel to Stoke City for an FA Cup third round clash on Saturday. Stoke are always a difficult nut to crack at home but Brighton will be relying on their superior quality to give them the edge in a closely fought encounter.
Stoke City do not head into Saturday’s clash in the best form having picked up one win from their last 12 matches across all competitions. They are slipping dangerously close to the relegation zone in the Championship standings and will be keen to use the FA Cup as a confidence boost to jumpstart their campaign.
The problem with Stoke City is an inability to keep things tight at the back which has led to too many draws in recent weeks. Steven Schumacher’s men have been held four times in the last five meetings, including a 0-0 scoreline at Watford in a Championship fixture on New Year’s Day.
It has been a similar situation at the Bet365 Stadium as Stoke City have drawn their last three home matches. However, prior to that run, the Potters had suffered successive defeats, which means they are winless in their last five matches in front of their fans.
On the surface, it appears Brighton are travelling to Stoke in good form as their recent record reveals just one defeat in the last seven matches. However, a closer look shows some inconsistency as they have picked up just three wins and played out three draws in that run.
One of those draws came on Tuesday as Brighton were held 0-0 at West Ham in a Premier League fixture. Although manager Roberto De Zerbi will be pleased with his team’s first clean sheet, he will also be disappointed not to have claimed the win after dominating the possession and creating several scoring opportunities.
While the result at the London Stadium was disappointing, Brighton will be keen to replicate such the performance on Saturday. Although the Seagulls are winless in their last four away matches, they do have experience of winning on the road in the Cups having won at Ajax and AEK Athens during the group stage of the Europa League.
How the bookies view it
Brighton have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 8/15 by bet365 to claim the win. Stoke City are considered outsiders among the bookies with a home win valued at 5/1 with BoyleSports while a draw is set at odds of 10/3 by BetVictor.
Head to head
Stoke City have an 11/2 advantage with seven draws from 20 previous matches against Brighton & Hove Albion. However, one of the wins for Brighton came in last season’s FA Cup fifth round as they picked up a 1-0 victory at the Bet365 Stadium.
Players to watch
Stoke City have multiple attacking threats and have spread their goals across the team this season. However, Ryan Mmaee often features in attack for the Potters and is priced at 7/2 by bet365 to find the net on Saturday.
Evan Ferguson has not featured much lately and could be given a rare start with Brighton likely to rotate the team on Saturday. The forward was on target in last season’s FA Cup win at the Bet365 Stadium and is priced at 5/4 by bet365 to get on the encore sheet once again.
Anything else catch the eye?
Stoke and Brighton have shown little defensive solidity in recent weeks and both teams could be backed to score at 7/10 with bet365. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 6/10 with Paddy Power, who is also offering odds of 8/5 on over 3.5 goals.
Given the minimal odds for a straight Brighton victory, a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 11/10 with bet365. The Seagulls could also be tipped to score in both halves at 6/5 with Unibet.
This FA Cup match between Stoke City and Brighton & Hove Albion will be played on Jan 6, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Stoke City vs Brighton & Hove Albion prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
