Stoke vs Plymouth Prediction: Under 1.5 goals is the wise bet

| 18th April |

3 mins read

Don’t believe for a second that last week’s results have made Plymouth Argyle’s trip to Stoke City on Saturday any less important in the scrap against relegation from the Championship (kick-off 15:00 BST).

The Pilgrims beat Leicester City last weekend and then the Potters held Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, keeping both teams at arm’s length from the bottom three. But defeat for either side at the bet365 Stadium could drop them right back in the mire, making three points vital as we make our Stoke vs Plymouth predictions.

Stoke vs Plymouth Betting Tips

Both Teams To Score - No @ 1/1
Total Goals Under 1.5 @ 5/2

Team news

Steven Schumacher made six changes for last week’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday off the back of a submissive 3-0 defeat to Swansea City in the previous midweek, and the former Plymouth manager could again make alterations, his tendency for tinkering meaning players could be kept on their toes once more.

Wolves loanee Luke Cundle came off the bench to strike the crucial 76^th minute equaliser in South Yorkshire, so he could well be rewarded with a return to the starting lineup against the club he spent a previous loan spell with in the first half of this season.

Ryan Mmaee, Ben Pearson and Lynden Gooch all have hamstring injuries, and while only Mmaee of the three has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign, Pearson and Gooch could also miss this weekend’s game.

Neil Dewsnip’s return to caretaker charge following the sacking of the unpopular Ian Foster has resulted in an immediate upturn in form for Plymouth, who stunned Leicester City at Home Park last time out.

The Pilgrims have no major injury concerns beyond Mickel Miller, who had to depart early from the 1-0 win over the Foxes. Joe Edwards could return to the starting XI, while Lewis Gibson, Jordan Houghton and Callum Wright are all among those who could contend for a spot.

Match odds

The Potters are 4/5 favourites to win on home soil, with Plymouth victory against their former boss being priced at 3/1. Think they’ll share the spoils? That’s at 23/10, while you can get 8/11 on both teams to score.

Both Teams To Score – No @ 1/1

We’d all love an end-to-end goal-fest of a match at the ‘Brit’ on Saturday, but this game ought to be filed on the ‘unlikely to happen’ pile in that regard.

Just seven of Stoke City’s 21 home games so far in 2023/24 have seen both teams find the net, such has been the cagey nature of the Potters’ play on home turf. What’s more, Plymouth have become far more introverted in recent times, with their early-season goal-heavy to-and-fros giving way to a run which has seen nine of their last 12 matches end with only one side of the ledger populated.

So form is on the side of us folks who believe this will be a tight, tense encounter settled the moment the first goal finds the net.

Total Goals Under 1.5 @ 5/2

As if to double down in many respects, this 5/2 bet could well be on the cards on Saturday. While the ‘BTTS no’ bet covers us for a clean sheet on one side or the other, not many will be expecting a 2-0 or 3-0 success either way.

Just look at these two teams’ results this term. Fourteen of Stoke’s 43 games have finished with fewer than 1.5 goals (10 finishing 1-0 and four goalless), while that recent Plymouth run includes five 1-0s in their last eight matches.

That makes this one a very appealing bet indeed, and with nerves set to be frayed throughout the match both on and off the field, this could be yet another low-scoring encounter.