English Premier
2012-09-22 - West Brom vs Reading
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 22 September 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
West Brom
Steve Clarke endured his first loss as a manager last week at Craven Cottage, but he will be looking for a positive reaction from his side after a strong start to the new season. Clarke would have been upset at Peter Odemwingie, who was sent off last week, as that gave his side an uphill task in that game.
West Brom have picked up 7 points from their opening games this season and that leaves them in 7th spot in the Premier League and only 3 points off the pace set by the leaders. They have won both games at the Hawthornes this season, scoring 5 goals and keeping 2 clean sheets in wins over Liverpool and Everton.
The defeat at Fulham was the first in 5 games in all competitions to open the new season. West Brom will feel comfortable coming back home as they have lost just 2 of their last 9 Premier League games here and they have won 6 of those games going back to February. The Baggies have actually kept 5 clean sheets in their last 6 at home including in both games this season.
Peter Odemwingie is suspended, while Jerome Thomas is also out. Goran Popov and Steven Reid are in a race to prove their fitness for this game and both may be more likely to be recalled for the Capital One Cup game next week.
Reading
Brian McDermott isn't under pressure from the board at Reading, but he won't have been too impressed to see his club criticised by Adam Federici's girlfriend in the wake of dropping him for the game against Tottenham Hotspur. McDermott also attributed the performance and loss to the fact that Reading hadn't played in the League since the 22nd August so there is an expectation that they show more in this one.
Reading are currently 19th in the Premier League with 1 point earned, but they also have an extra game to play against most of the rest of the League after the game at Sunderland was called off. This will only be their second away game in the League following a 4-2 loss at Chelsea, although Reading were level in that game with 10 minutes remaining.
The team were comfortably beaten by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and have lost back to back League games as they head to the Midlands. Reading have also lost back to back away games in the League, including the last game in the Championship last season, but they had previously lost 1 in 10 in all competitions on their travels.
Alex McCarthy looks set to continue in goal after Brian McDermott admitted he had dropped Adam Federici. Jason Roberts and Jimmy Kebe are both hopeful of being involved in the squad following recent injuries.
Head to Head
These two teams last met in the FA Cup a couple of seasons ago in a game Reading won 1-0 at the Majedski Stadium.
West Brom have won just 1 of their last 4 home games against Reading, although only losing 1 of those games too.
Prediction
This could be one of the high-scoring games of the weekend if both teams continue to defend in the manner they have been in the opening weeks of the season.
I know West Brom have a number of clean sheets to their name in their home games, but take away the stats and have a look at the number of chances that both Liverpool and Everton created and you have to feel there will be an opportunity here for Reading, a team that has scored in every League and Cup game so far this season.
On the other hand, I do expect West Brom to have chances in the game as Reading are still getting to grip with the level of defending needed in the Premier League. They have conceded at least 2 goals in 3 of their 4 games this season, including in the Cup against Peterborough United.
The last two times they met at the Hawthornes have also produced goals and I just feel the 2.00 being offered by Ladbrokes that we see at least 3 goals is much better value than picking West Brom at odds on to win the game.
It just feels to me that this is the kind of game that West Brom may throw a dud in and I do think Reading may avoid defeat, but I'll go against the two defences in this one and look for goals.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
West Brom 1-2 Reading
