The Daily Acca: Stoke to deny Derby at Pride Park

Paul Robinson
31 January 2020

Michael O'Neill has got Stoke out of the relegation zone

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Paul Robinson is aiming to head into the weekend with his third Daily Acca win of the week, and this one pays just shy of 19/1. Here are his selections:

- Back The Draw in Cardiff v Reading @ 9/4
- Back The Draw in Derby v Stoke @ 2/1
- Back Rennes @ 1/1

The Acca pays approximately 19/1

Spoils to be shared in South Wales

Bet 1: Back The Draw in Cardiff v Reading @ 9/4 - KO 19:45 GMT

Both of these teams are in mid-table in the Championship, but it would only take a run of three of four wins to put them right back in the Play-off picture.

The Bluebirds are actually unbeaten in six in all competitions, and have lost just one of their last eight in the league. They did beat West Brom at home on Tuesday, but prior to that it had been three straight draws in front of their own fans.

The Royals fell to a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Bristol City during the week, but on the road it's just one loss in seven - three of which were draws.

Given that Cardiff have drawn more games than any other Championship team this term, and that Reading are proving hard to beat away, I think that the draw has to be the play in this one.

Stoke to maintain their unbeaten run

Bet 2: Back The Draw in Derby v Stoke @ 2/1 - KO 19:45 GMT

Phillip Cocu will be furious with his Derby players after they lost 3-2 at Luton Tuesday - despite taking the lead in the 63rd minute, and then equalising at 2-2 in the 85th.

They are back on home soil this evening though, and only Millwall and Bristol City have beaten them here this season. The Rams have won their last three on the bounce, but they were all by a single goal margin - against teams in the lower half of the league.

Stoke are on the up under Michael O'Neill, and while everything hasn't been perfect since his arrival, they are certainly getting better results than they were before.

The Potters have won their last two matches - including a 1-0 victory at West Brom - and they put four away losses behind them by winning their last two away. They are more than capable of taking a point from their visit to Pride Park.

Rennes to close the gap on the top two

Bet 3: Back Rennes @ 1/1 - KO 19:45 GMT

It's third versus sixth in Ligue One tonight, and I am expecting home advantage to prove the difference when Rennes take on Nantes.

The hosts are third in the league, and while they trail Marseille in second by five points, they do hold a four point advantage over Montpeliier in fourth.

Julien Stéphan's side were actually beaten by Marseille in their last home match in the league, but prior to that it had been five straight victories.

Nantes have lost their last two in all competitions - a cup defeat at home to Lyon, followed by a 1-0 loss to Bordeaux, which was also at home.

On their travels it's actually three victories in a row - two league and one cup - but the cup win was against lower league opposition, and the Ligue One successes were against teams in the bottom six. Overall this term, they have lost five of their 10 away games in this division.