Stoke will travel to Southampton on Tuesday in a bid to upset the Premier League hosts in the EFL Cup 4th round. Can they do it, or will the hosts hold strong and advance?
Let’s take a look at what could unfold at St. Mary’s Stadium on Tuesday night!
How the bookies view it: Southampton favoured
Despite some fairly patchy form in the Premier League, Southampton are still favoured here with odds of 1/2 for the victory. For Stoke City, given their relatively poor form in the Championship, they are way down in the odds at 19/4 – as determined by Betano right now. That said, Southampton haven’t won a league game at home all season, which should give Stoke hope.
Head-to-head: A happy rivalry for Stoke
Things have been surprisingly ropey for Southampton against Stoke in recent times. In the last five encounters, Southampton has managed to beat Stoke City just once. This was back in the Championship in 2023, and it was only a 1-0 win away from home. On the other hand, Stoke has beaten Southampton in three of their last five encounters.
Two of these wins came at St. Mary’s Stadium, too, which is why we feel that Stoke City could well sneak this one!
Players to watch: Cameron Archer and Thomas Cannon
Because neither team has particularly been tearing it up in their respective leagues this season, it’s not like they have guys who are performing like superstars right now. However, each side still has guys who have played their part in earning crucial points so far. For Southampton, that man is Cameron Archer, a young forward with 2 goals from 9 games in the Premier League.
As for Stoke City, their top performer in terms of goals scored is Thomas Cannon. He has found the back of the net 4 times in just 7 appearances. This is obviously a more impressive record than Archer’s, but whether he can step up against Premier League opposition is another story.
You can back Archer to score anytime at 13/8 or Cannon to score anytime at 7/2 right now at Betano.
Predicted lineups
Both teams have injury woes right now. Southampton will be without Bazunu, Smallbone, and Stewart, and Downes is also a concern. As for Stoke City, guys like Gooch, Pearson, Lawal, and Gallagher remain unavailable, which will force a few rotations for Tuesday’s game.
Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Bree, Wood, Harwood-Bellis, Taylor; Ugochukwu, Aribo; Cornet, Lallana, Fraser; Archer
Stoke possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Tchamadeu, Gibson, Phillips, Rose, Bocat; Manhoef, Burger, Thompson, Koumas; Cannon
Anything else catch the eye?
Interestingly, this match-up hasn’t been overloaded with goals in recent times. In the last three meetings, just two goals have been scored, suggesting that the under 2.5 goals market could be a good call here.
At the same time, both teams have scored in just one of the last five meetings. Therefore, it’s possible that the ‘BTTS – No’ market could well be a winner, too. Of course, you could choose either of our tipped scorers (Cannon or Archer) in the anytime scorer markets for more of a risky play if you wish!
This EFL Cup match between Southampton and Stoke will be played on Oct 29, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs Stoke prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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