STOKE SLIM FAVOURITES IN VILLA SHOWDOWN- LATEST NEWS AND BETTING TIPS

Stoke head into tonight's clash with Villa as slim favourites, despite sitting second from bottom of the current Premiership log.
Media-wise Aston Villa has seen most attention this week focused solely upon the likely arrival of Gerard Houllier as the team’s new manager, leading this to be one of the lesser popular games from a coverage aspect.
While Villa fret over the post of the club's new manager, Stoke are set in that department with Tony Pulis having already ruled himself out of contention for the vacant Wales job.
Bet 365 place Stoke as slight favourites in this showdown at 2.5, while Aston Villa comes in at 2.87. A draw- not a bad shout on a matchup such as this- comes in at 3.25
With this game forecast to be a matchup between a team of equal abilities, the betting odds in favour of scorelines suggest just this. A 1-1 draw will see odds of 6.0, whereas a 2-2 draw ranks high on the punter stakes at a colossal 17.0!
A 1-0 win in favour of the Potters shows up at 7.0, while the same scenario in favour of Villa will net 8.0.
With Villa desperate to try and regain some of the form shown last season- and seriously lacking since the departure of Martin O' Neill-one would not be surprised to see a Villa side come out firing. A 3-0 win is marked at 29.0, with 3-1 at 26.0
While the traditionalists are considering this to be a game of equal ability, one must feel that Villa harbour the more lethal attacking ability.
This fact, coupled with a team being well aware that new manager Houllier will be watching the game intently prior to his arrival, might very well bring out the best in an otherwise uninspiring line up thus far.
Prediction: Villa to take it to the Potters with a 3-1 win