STOKE FAVOURED IN CLASH WITH ASTON VILLA- PREVIEW AND ODDS

Stoke take on Aston Villa this evening in the last of this week's premier league clashes.
Stoke, who currently sit second from bottom on the log, will be desperate to take advantage of a Villa team in transition- which has seen the majority of team headlines this week surrounding the acquisition of new manager Gerard Houllier
Most punters are expecting an evenly matched, and all round low scoring affair, with William Hill paying out 8.5 on a 0-0 draw.
Interestingly, considering the current log positions, Stoke are favoured ahead of Villa in the scoring ranks with a 1-0 win netting 7.5, while the same result in Villa's favour is at 8.0
On the line up front, Stoke could be handing out debuts to transfer deadline day signings in the form of Eidur Gudjohnsen, Jermaine Pennant and Marc Wilson.
William Hill put Kenwyne Jones as favourite to score for Stoke at any point at 2.5, with Gabriel Agbonlahor favoured for Villa at 2.75. Emile Heskey might be worth a look in at 3.25, along with hot- and- cold Ashley Young at 3.75
Betfair once again have some fantastic odds going on Half time/Full Time predictions with a Draw/Villa netting 8.0, and a Draw/Stoke 6.6.
If the scoring predictions are to be taken into account a Draw/Draw scenario is highly conceivable at a 5.3
This game will be tight considering that all in all Aston Villa have only beaten Stoke once in the last six attempts, however the fact remains that both of these teams have yet to play to their full potential.
After a somewhat topsy-turvy Premiership weekend, this game could spark into life at any point and is very much worth a punt on the betting front.