Daily Dynamo Selections – Chelsea v Stoke City
There have been few shocks so far in this week's FA Cup draw, despite Watford taking a two goal lead at Manchester City, so perhaps this all-Premier League tie can at least provide some competitive football for fans to enjoy. Chelsea will of course begin as big favourites to progress, but Stoke have been performing creditably in the Premier League this season, and can be a very uncompromising team to play against on their day.
Chelsea are in the middle of an excellent run of form, having won their last five Premier League matches and eight of their last ten, as the top three in the EPL have carved out a bit of a gap at the top in this most competitive of seasons. Sir Alex Ferguson recently stated that it was incredibly hard to predict who will win the Premier League this season, and it's hard to disagree with this verdict, even though most people see Manchester City as the favourites.
By contrast, Stoke haven't won for five EPL games, and they will unquestionably have their work cut out to get anything out of this cup tie at Stamford Bridge. Conventional wisdom would seem to suggest that this could be a walkover for the Blues, and I would tend to agree with this. They look too ruthless and too good for Stoke at the moment, even if many Blues fans will miss the departing Juan Mata.
Thus, I can't see Stoke getting anything out of this game, I think this will be the end of cup football for them this term, and my Daily Dynamo Selections reflect this.
Selections: Safe Bet – Both Teams not to Score (13/20 with BetVictor), Value Bet – Chelsea 2 – 0 Stoke City (6/1 with Stan James)
