Reading look to bounce back from a poor run of form as they host promotion hopefuls Norwich City in an English Football League Championship encounter at the Madejski Stadium.
Championship – Madejski Stadium, Reading 30th September – 17:30 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 5/2 at Ladbrokes |
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Reading
NorwichReading
Last season, Reading finished third and were agonisingly beaten on penalties in the play-off final by Huddersfield. This season, they have been awful and sit just one point outside the relegation zone.
They are currently on a run of four league matches without a win and have only picked up two victories this season.
At Millwall in midweek, they led with ten minutes remaining but conceded two goals in five minutes to lose 2-1.
A morale boosting victory is needed soon, otherwise Reading may find themselves in for a long battle against the drop this season.
Norwich
Norwich have bounced back from a poor August which saw them lose three of their five league games, with three wins and two draws from their last five without conceding a single goal.
That turnaround leaves them just three points off the top six, which keeps their promotion hopes alive and well.
However, scoring goals has become a problem for them. Only four teams have netted less goals than the nine Norwich have scored in the league this season, and they are the only team in the top fifteen with a minus goal difference.
They will be confident of picking up another victory against an out-of-form Reading but the manager will want to see his side pose more of an attacking threat than they have done so far this term.
Team News
Reading should have a full-strength squad to choose from for this fixture, with no new injuries or suspensions.
Norwich have a few injury problems but will be boosted by the return of top scorer Nelson Oliveira, who came on as a late substitute against Middlesbrough in midweek.
This fixture comes too soon for Mario Vrancic, who is still recovering from a muscle injury which has kept him out of the last couple of matches, and Steven Naismith is a few weeks from regaining full fitness. They also have a few long-term absentees, including Alex Pritchard and Matt Jarvis.
Head to Head
These sides have met twenty-two times since December 1995, with Reading having a slight advantage with nine wins. Norwich have won eight times, and five have been draws.
Reading have won three of the last four meetings but Norwich absolutely dominated the most recent, winning 7-1 at home in the league in April this year.
As hosts, Reading hold the advantage. They are unbeaten in six at home against Norwich, with the away side last picking up a victory as visitors in April 2004.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Despite the difference between the sides in recent form, the bookmakers have them closely matched with regards to betting odds.
Reading are priced at 13/8 for the victory with Bet 365, and Norwich to win is 8/5. The draw is priced at 23/10, which shows the bookmakers cannot predict a clear winner here.
With the recent form Reading have shown, it’s hard to back them for the victory. However, they have picked up two draws in their last three league matches so it’s possible they could get something from this match. Therefore, we would recommend backing Norwich or Draw in the Double Chance market at odds of 1/2.
Reading are one of the four sides to have scored less goals than Norwich this season, so this match could prove to be a low-scoring affair. Seven of Reading’s nine league games, and seven of Norwich’s ten, have had two goals or less this season.
Those statistics make Under 2.5 Goals look a fantastic bet at odds of 1/1.
Under 3.5 Goals looks an even bigger possibility, and still provides decent profit potential at odds of 4/11.
One interesting statistic is that Reading have conceded 50% of their goals after the 75th minute, with Norwich scoring 44% of their goals after this point in the match. Therefore, Norwich to score in the second half looks tempting at odds of 8/11.
Top Betting Tip
We cannot see a Reading victory in this match but also cannot clearly predict a Norwich win. So, our top betting tip is Norwich or Draw in the Double Chance market at odds of 1/2 with Bet 365.