Derby County continue their quest to claw back a negative points deficit as they host Reading in a midweek EFL Championship fixture at Pride Park. The Rams are out of sorts and are tipped to struggle against an in-form Reading team.
Derby County were beaten 1-0 at Sheffield United last time out in the Championship. They had lively spells in the encounter and looked to have done enough to earn a point before conceding a penalty towards the end.
It has been a turbulent campaign for Derby County, who have gone into administration, resulting in a 12 point deduction. They are currently sitting bottom of the table with minus two points, nine points from safety.
Even without the points deduction, Derby County have struggled to find their best form this season with just two wins from nine matches. They have also found things difficult on their own turf with just one win from their last seven matches, stretching back to last season.
Reading were victorious in their previous Championship fixture as they edged out Middlesbrough 1-0. They were the dominant team and created a number of chances but in the end Alen Halilovic's second half effort proved to be the difference.
The Royals appear to be coming into some good form after enduring a slow start to the season. They have won their last three Championship matches and claimed a 2-1 victory against Fulham in their previous fixture on the road.
Despite their recent good form, defending remains a problem for Veljko Paunovic’s men, who have kept just one clean sheet this season.
How the bookies view it
Derby County have the slight edge among the bookies and are priced at 17/11 by Sport Nation to win. A victory for Reading is valued at 21/10 with SBK while Skybet is offering 23/10 for a draw.
Head to head
Reading have a 22-12 advantage with six draws from 40 previous matches against Derby County. They did the double over Derby last season with the fixture at Pride Park ending 2-0.
Players to watch
Tom Lawrence is likely to continue in attack for Derby County despite scoring just once this season. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 10/3 with Paddy Power.
John Swift is the top scorer for Reading this season with seven goals in nine Championship matches. The midfielder is priced at 3/1 by bet365 to find the net on Wednesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Derby County and Reading are often vulnerable in defence and both teams are likely to score at 20/21 with MansionBet. There have been over 2.5 goals in four of Reading’s last five matches and a similar outcome is valued at 24/19 with SBK.
Reading have opened the scoring in their last three matches and could be backed to score first at 5/4 with Skybet.
This England Championship match between Derby County and Reading will be played on Sep 29, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Derby County vs Reading prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.