Stoke City face a testy trip to Reading in the English Championship on Sunday. The hosts have been excellent at home this season and are expected to have the upper hand here.
Reading are coming off a 4-0 defeat to Sheffield United in their previous Championship fixture. They were second best throughout the encounter, failing to trouble the Sheffield backline and finishing without a single attempt on target.
While it was a disappointing performance and result for Reading, manager Paul Ince will be keen to chalk it off as a bad day at the office. It has been a generally positive start to the season for the Royals, who were top of the Championship before the trip to Sheffield United and had claimed three straight wins.
Reading will be feeling confident heading into Sunday’s match given their record at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. They have won all three of their Championship home matches this season with victories over Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough in that run.
In contrast to Reading’s showings this season, Stoke City have endured a difficult start to the campaign. They have claimed just two wins from their opening six matches and are currently in the bottom half of the table.
The Potters head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 1-1 home draw with Swansea in their previous Championship fixture. They fell behind early in the contest and had to wait till injury time before Tyrese Campbell struck the equaliser.
Although Stoke City won at Blackburn Rovers in their last away fixture, their general record on the road has been disappointing. Alex Neil’s men have claimed just two wins in their last 14 Championship away matches, a run stretching back to last season.
How the bookies view it
Despite their mixed start, Stoke City still have a slight edge among the bookies and are priced at 20/13 with SBK. A victory for Reading is valued at 2/1 by William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 23/10 with Paddy Power.
Head to head
Reading have a 14-8 advantage with 13 draws from 35 previous matches with Stoke City. Both teams won their home fixture last season with the Royals claiming a 2-1 victory at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Players to watch
Reading have spread their goals across the team this season but Lucas Joao often leads the line and could be worth keeping an eye on. The striker has one goal in four appearances and is priced at 9/4 by bet365 to find the net.
Stoke City also have multiple goal threats but Jacob Brown will be the one to watch on Sunday. The attacker has two goals this season and is priced at 3/1 by bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye
Reading and Stoke City enjoy an open style of play which means both teams could be backed to score at 8/9 with SBK. The last meeting between both teams produced over 2.5 goals which is priced at 6/5 with bet365 while over 3.5 goals is valued at 16/5 with Unibet.
Reading have opened the scoring in their last two home matches and could be tipped to grab the first goal on Sunday at 6/5 with BoyleSports.
This England Championship match between Reading and Stoke City will be played on Sep 4, 2022 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best Reading vs Stoke City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
