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Fri 30 October 2015 13:44, UK

Michael Lintorn expects Newcastle’s habit of performing encouragingly without success to continue against Stoke…
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Newcastle 2.52 v Stoke 3.15; The Draw 3.40
Saturday, 15:00
Newcastle
In a development that pretty much nobody saw coming, Newcastle’s win percentage has dipped since John Carver was replaced by Steve McClaren, with the caretaker’s three Premier League victories in 19 trumping his successor’s one in ten.
The Magpies have mastered the comforting but ultimately useless knack of playing well without winning though, showing significant improvement on Carver’s squad in terms of performance, albeit not results. They matched Arsenal with ten men yet lost 1-0, earned a 2-0 lead over Chelsea before hanging on for a point and were outplaying Sunderland before eventually eating a 3-0 beating.
McClaren can also point to the inconvenience of injuries, with Tim Krul, Karl Darlow, Steven Taylor, Jack Colback, Gabriel Obertan and Emmanuel Riviere among those currently sidelined. At least they have Fabricio Coloccini available after his suspension for a sending off at the Stadium of Light was overturned, but this will heighten the sense of injustice engulfing that defeat.
Stoke
The Potters put in their worst display of what had already been an underwhelming start last weekend when outshone 2-0 at home by Watford, yet the bigger picture is a far brighter one too.
They won four games in a row before that setback and responded to it by knocking holders Chelsea out of the Capital One Cup. This was achieved on penalties despite conceding an injury-time equaliser and having a player sent off moments later, which says a great deal about their character.
Another huge positive was the first 2015/16 appearance of captain Ryan Shawcross, and the centre back survived the whole two hours. However, they will have to cope without the banned Phil Bardsley, while Marc Muniesa, Geoff Cameron and Bojan Krkic are doubts.
Match Odds
Though Newcastle were a little unlucky at Sunderland and prevailed in their previous home clash against Norwich, they have suffered misfortune so frequently this term that it is easy to envisage it happening again, and they leaked twice against the Canaries.
If they do so again, they are unlikely to be able to blast their way out of trouble when tackling a Potters defence that were last breached more than twice in February.
Indeed, despite their own unremarkable opening, Stoke have earned 60% more points away than their hosts have done at St James’ Park, with their record of P5 W2 D2 L1 – with the sole reverse arriving at Arsenal – in fact the opposite of the Magpies’ P5 W1 D2 L2 on Tyneside. Since that loss at the Emirates, Mark Hughes’ men have won three straight road fixtures 1-0 across all competitions.
Both Teams to Score
The clean-sheet groove that Stoke were easing into was disrupted against Watford and Chelsea and they have actually kept just two in 11 against top-flight opponents so, while they will be confident of scoring having done so in six of their seven 2015/16 away days, a shut out should elude them.
Newcastle have netted in four of their five league matches in front of their fans, only failing to fire against Arsenal with ten men, and struck 11 times in total across those encounters. They are still waiting on home clean sheet number one, conceding at least twice in four of their five outings.
Both teams to score is an enticing 1.89. If you share this column’s suspicion that Stoke are more likely to triumph, you can combine the two for odds of 6.40.
Recommended Bet:
Back both teams to score @ 1.89
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