READING v BIRMINGHAM CITY
Tuesday 2nd January 2018 – Kickoff: 2000hrs
Football – England – Championship Betting Tips
Reading picked up a point in a 1-1 draw away at Barnsley on Saturday but it’s now five league matches without a win for The Royals in the Championship as they seem to have taken their foot off the accelerator pedal in recent weeks.
Jaap Stam’s side had recovered well during November and into early December as they suffered just one defeat in seven matches which was a 2-0 loss at home to Wolves, but this decent run of form saw Reading pick up wins over Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Barnsley and Sunderland.
However, Reading have been unable to keep this pace going and they’ve slumped to five without a win which includes defeats to Ipswich Town, Burton Albion and Bristol City, either side of 2-2 and 1-1 draws against Cardiff City and Barnsley respectively.
Visitors Birmingham City recorded a very valuable three points in a 1-0 home win over Leeds United at St Andrews on Saturday but it wasn’t enough to lift them off the bottom of the Championship league table as relegation rivals, Sunderland and Bolton also both won, and Burton drew.
However, that crucial win ended a miserable run of seven matches without a win, a run which included five defeats to Middlesbrough, Wolves, Fulham, QPR and Norwich City – three of which were at home.
This trip to Reading might just suit Birmingham who will be without the added weight of expectation of their St Andrews crowd, and although The Blues possess a woeful away record which stands at 0-3-9 5/22, their luck surely has to change on the road at some time and why not against an off-colour Reading outfit?
Pick: Birmingham City AH+0.75 @ 1.66 Bet Victor
