Reading plot surge forward
Cardiff and Reading drew 1-1 in the FA Cup last weekend and face each other again on Friday night in the Welsh capital. Will either side be able to find a winner? Have a read of our preview here:
Cardiff finding wins hard to come by
At the time of writing, Cardiff have only won once in their last eight games and they face top of the table West Brom on Tuesday night.
Given West Brom’s recent form, the Bluebirds should be aiming to pick up maximum points in this one but the Baggies FA Cup victory over West Ham could prove the catalyst for another good run in the Championship from the West Midlands outfit.
Neil Harris’ side have found winning a difficult thing of late, drawing of their last eight games which followed a run of three straight wins.
It has seen the Welsh side stutter as they hoped to push towards the play-off places and leaves them seven points adrift of the top-six and just two points ahead of Reading heading into the Tuesday night action.
The FA Cup meeting at the Madjeski Stadium last weekend the away side really should have won the game, creating the far better chances but two early goals were not added to by either side and so they will have to meet for a third time in under three weeks.
Royal’s making steady progress
Mark Bowen has seen his Royals make steady progress since taking charge (and no he didn’t pick himself for the job).
Reading have played some nice football under the former Norwich defender and it has seen them pull well clear of the relegation dogfight they looked like being involved with after a poor start to the campaign.
Heading into Tuesday’s game against Bristol City, they have only lost once in nine matches which is a massive improvement after losing seven of their first 11 games of the season.
Ovie Ejaria has been excellent for the Berkshire outfit this season. The Liverpool loanee has notched three goals and three assists in the Championship since arriving at the club.
John Swift has been key, bagging five goals and seven assists to lead the club in direct goal contributions. His creativity could be the difference in what will be another tightly contested game on Friday night.
Cardiff vs Reading betting tip
Mark Bowen has got the Royals moving in the right direction and they have proven they can compete with the best in this division that’s why we think backing double chance Reading to win or draw at odds of 8/11 with bet365 offers excellent value here.
Post bet chat James's Tips:
Reading came away from Cardiff with a well earned point