Stoke City vs Reading
7th August 1500hrs
Football – England – EFL Championship
Pick Draw & BTTS
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 15/4 odds taken 0911 GMT, Friday 6 August
Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City entertain Veljko Paunovic’s Reading at the bet365 Stadium this Saturday. Both teams will want to get their 2021-22 EFL Championship seasons up and running with a big three points, but the Potters are the slight favourites with the bookies. In our in-depth Stoke vs Reading preview, we have the latest and greatest betting odds and tips.
Table of Contents
Stoke City Preview – Will the Potters start with three points?
Since arriving at the bet365 Stadium, former Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has steadied the ship and put Stoke City on the right course again. The Potters finished in 14th last term but flirted with the play-offs on occasions. The year before, Stoke narrowly avoided the drop.
City made a steady start last season, winning eight of their opening 16 Championship fixtures. However, they struggled for consistency after Christmas and ended with four defeats from their final seven matches. On the last weekend, though, Stoke did manage to Bournemouth 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium. They also had a decent run in the League Cup.
Stoke have been tipped to have a solid campaign under O’Neill. At the time of writing, the Staffordshire side are priced at 9/2 for promotion – will they be in the mix come the end of the season? City would love to start with three points on Saturday.
Reading Preview – Can the Royals made another excellent start?
Veljko Paunovic hit the ground running at the Madejski Stadium last season. Reading were the early pace-setters, going the first eight games unbeaten. The Royals stormed their way to the top of the Championship table with seven wins and a draw.
However, it went downhill after that, with the Berkshire outfit losing four and drawing one of their next five. During that run, they were beaten 3-0 at home by Stoke. They got their act together at the start of winter to move back into promotion contention.
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Reading come up short in the end but made a real fist of things in Paunovic’s first season in charge. They ended their campaign with no wins in six (four draws, two defeats) but finished in seventh.
Stoke City vs Reading Betting Advice
As we touched on, when these two met at the Madejski Stadium back in November of last season, Stoke ran out comfortable 3-0 winners, with Tyrese Campbell, Steven Fletcher and Jacob Brown on target. They then drew 0-0 at the bet365 Stadium in February.
Before Stoke’s impressive victory in Berkshire in November 2020, each of the previous four meetings had ended all square. Five of the last six between the duo have finished in draws.
Key Facts – Stoke City vs Reading Betting Tip
- Six of the last eight meetings between the two have ended level
- Stoke took four points from Reading last term, keeping two clean sheets along the way
- Reading lost just seven away league matches last season
Stoke are the bookies’ favourites to win this one, but we are having a tough time splitting the evenly matched teams. A point apiece on the opening weekend would not be a bad result for either side, and the draw and both teams to score at 15/4 has caught the eye.
Between them, Stoke and Reading drew 1-1 11 times in last season’s Championship. The 1-1 stalemate this Saturday is available at 5/1.
The best betting odds for Stoke City vs Reading
Stoke City to win: 5/4 at Bet365
Draw: 11/5 at Bet365
Reading to win: 11/5 at Bet365