Cardiff City vs Reading
2nd October 1500hrs
Football – England – EFL Championship
Pick Home Win by One Goal
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 3/1 odds taken 1418 GMT, Friday 1 October
Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff City and Veljko Paunovic’s Reading meet at the Cardiff City Stadium in the EFL Championship on Saturday. This a crucial game for McCarthy and his Bluebirds, who have suffered four straight losses. The Royals have been in fine fettle of late, but they head to South Wales having fallen to a narrow defeat at Derby County last time out. Cardiff need the points, and the hosts are the bookies’ favourites at evens. Check out our Cardiff vs Reading betting preview.
Table of Contents
Cardiff City Preview – Can the Bluebirds avoid a fifth straight league defeat?
Cardiff City actually made a pretty decent start to their Championship campaign, winning two and drawing two of their opening four. They then lost the Severnside derby at home to Bristol City before coming from behind to beat Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
It has all gone downhill from there, though, as Cardiff have suffered four league defeats on the spin. After back-to-back 1-0 losses to Coventry City and Bournemouth, the Bluebirds have had a miserable week. They were hammered at Blackburn Rovers last Saturday, crashing to a heavy 5-1 loss. City were then beaten 4-0 at home by West Bromwich Albion in midweek.
Cardiff will be desperate for all three points from this one having not won at home since a 3-1 success over Millwall on 21st August. The hosts are priced at evens to get the victory.
Reading Preview – Can the Royals record a fourth win in five?
Reading have had a mixed bag of results at the start of this season. Veljko Paunovic’s boys kicked off their campaign with one win from their opening six league games, losing four times along the way.
They then went on an impressive three-game winning streak to fire themselves away from the bottom three. After beating Peterborough United at home, the Royals stunned Fulham at Craven Cottage. They made it three wins on the spin with a narrow 1-0 home victory over Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough last Saturday.
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Wednesday’s 1-0 loss at Derby County was a setback, but Reading will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways in South Wales at the weekend. The bookies have them available at the tempting price of 14/5.
Cardiff City vs Reading Betting Advice
Reading have an excellent recent record over Cardiff, unbeaten in the previous 11 meetings. Since Cardiff picked up a 2-0 home win back in November 2015, the Royals have gone on to win four and draw seven of the following 11.
When they last met, Cardiff and Reading played out a 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium – Yakou Meite netted in injury time after a late Kieffer Moore penalty. Reading won 2-1 in Wales in the reverse fixture back in September 2020.
Key Facts – Cardiff City vs Reading Betting Tip
- Cardiff have failed to win any of their last 11 against Reading
- The Bluebirds have lost six of their past seven in league and cup
- Before the midweek loss to Derby, the Royals had won three on the bounce
No less than three points will do for McCarthy this weekend, and we fancy Cardiff to snatch a narrow win in front of their home fans. You can get 3/1 for City to win by one goal.
Kieffer Moore has struggled to get going this season, scoring just one Championship goal. Last term, the Wales international hit 20. Moore will be keen to make amends, and the striker is available at 9/2 to score first here.
The best betting odds for Cardiff City vs Reading
Cardiff City to win: Evens at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at Bet365
Reading to win: 14/5 at Bet365
