Derby County vs Reading
12th September 1500hrs
Football – England – EFL Championship
Pick Home Win by One Goal
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 11/4 odds taken 1305 GMT, Friday 11 September
Derby County and Reading meet on the opening weekend of the new EFL Championship season at Pride Park on Saturday. The Royals have a new man in the dugout, with former Chicago Fire boss Veljko Paunovic taking over at the Madejski Stadium. Can Reading start with a positive result on the road? We have the latest and greatest betting odds and predictions.
Table of Contents
Derby County Preview – Rams to battle to a narrow home win?
Phillip Cocu’s Derby County finished in tenth place in the Championship last season. The Rams chalked up 17 wins, battled to 13 draws and lost 16 games. Overall, County picked up 64 points, scored 64 goals and conceded 64 times.
Derby secured five consecutive wins in the Championship up until July, but a run of one draw and four defeats in their next five ended their slim play-off hopes. Nevertheless, on the final day of the season, Cocu’s boys picked up an impressive 3-1 win at Birmingham City, with Graeme Shinnie, Morgan Whittaker and Louis Sibley getting the goals.
Derby kicked off this term with a win over EFL League Two new boys Barrow in the EFL Cup. After a goalless draw in 90 minutes at Pride Park, County went on to win 3-2 on penalties. Can the East Midlands outfit follow up that cup victory with three points in the league at the weekend?
Reading Preview – Paunovic’s reign to start with defeat?
Veljko Paunovic had a decent spell in MLS with Chicago Fire, winning 31% of his matches. Mark Bowen did a good job at Reading last term, but Paunovic has been brought in to take the Royals to the next level. Like a lot of clubs this season, Reading will be aiming for the play-offs.
After a couple of years of real struggle, the club would have been relatively pleased with last season’s 14th place in the Championship. Reading won 15, drew 11 and lost 20 times to take 56 points.
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After taking seven points from a possible nine, including a 5-0 win at Luton Town, the Berkshire club ended the 2019-20 season with three consecutive defeats. However, they kick-started this term with a comfortable 3-1 home victory over Colchester United in the League Cup last weekend.
Derby County vs Reading Betting Advice
Reading were far too strong for Derby at the Madejski Stadium in December last term, as goals from Charlie Adam, Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite gave the Royals a routine 3-0 home win. However, the Rams returned the favour at Pride Park, with Wayne Rooney scoring the decisive goal in a 2-1 Derby victory.
Key Facts – Derby County vs Reading Betting Tip
- Only four clubs picked up more home points than Derby last season
- Reading claimed an impressive eight away victories in the 2019-20 Championship
- The Royals have won just one of their last five visits to Pride Park
Both clubs will be eyeing up the play-offs this season, and we could see a close encounter between the pair at Pride Park this Saturday. Having said that, our money is going on a narrow win for the home side. There is good value in 11/4 for the hosts to win by one goal.
Tom Lawrence opened the scoring against Reading at Pride Park last season. You can get 6/1 for a repeat scenario this weekend.
The best betting odds for Derby County vs Reading
Derby County to win: Evens at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at Bet365
Reading to win: 11/4 at Bet365
