Reading to boost promotion push against Burnley(credit:
Pete Norton/Getty Images)
Championship promotion hopefuls Reading and Burnley go head-to-head at the Madejski Stadium on Friday night.
The Royals currently occupy the final play-off spot in English football’s second tier, but this league remains one of the most competitive in Europe and there is no shortage of teams pursuing them and the rest of the teams in the top six. One member of the chasing pack is Friday’s opponents Burnley, who are 10th in the standings but just four points off the play-off places, so this match will be a key clash in the race for promotion to the Premier League (Reading To Be Promoted 4/1, Burnley To Be Promoted 10/1 @
BetVictor).
Both sides come into this match on the back of midweek victories – Reading at Derby County and Burnley at home to Barnsley – so confidence will be high. The Royals, in particular, are in fine form at the moment having won their last three games without conceding a goal, and they are understandably 5/6 favourites with
SkyBet to record another victory here and make it four-in-a-row (Match Odds – Burnley 18/4. Draw 5/2 @
William Hill).
Noel Hunt ended a goal drought that went back to late November by netting the only goal at Derby in midweek, and the striker is 7/4 in
bet365’s Anytime Goalscorer market for this one. If the Royals can get ahead in this one, Burnley could find it difficult to break them down because the last three teams to face Reading have failed to find the bet, with goalkeeper Adam Federici in superb form (Reading To Win To Nil – 21/10 @
Paddy Power).
Burnley have shown this season that they are capable of getting results on the road, having won eight of the 15 away games. However, the other seven matches have ended in defeat and that record suggests a draw is unlikely in this one. With the Clarets it appears to be all or nothing when they go away from Turf Moor, and on this occasion it is likely to be nothing.
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