Reading v Swansea Betting Preview – EFL Cup 19th September 8.00pm
Reading haven’t hit the heights of last season’s campaign in the Championship so far. They are struggling for goals this season, but are defensively tough enough to frustrate their Premier League opponents on Tuesday night at the Madejski. Swansea aren’t an attacking powerhouse themselves, of course, but they showed tremendous fighting qualities on the weekend to earn a point at Wembley against Spurs.
Reading v Swansea EFL Cup Betting Tips
The Royals haven’t quite hit their stride yet this season, not in the Championship anyway. They have posted a mixed W2 D2 L3 record in the second tier and they have just lacked consistency. They have won just the one in their last four played in the second tier. In the last round of the EFL Cup, Reading beat out Millwall 3-1 after extra time and that was after a victory over Gillingham in the first round. Those EFL Cup victories actually account for two of the three wins they have taken all season in all competitions. The Royals were very strong at home and very strong at the back last season, but they haven’t quite gotten back to their best. Both teams NOT to score at Coral offers a price of even and you imagine that both may well struggle to create a lot of chances in this one, especially if Swansea aren’t a full strength. With Coral, you have the option of under 2.5 goals coming in at a price of 9/10. The last meeting between these two clubs ended up in a 0-0 draw.
Swansea’s main crop of players will probably get a rest as they worked hard for a point against Spurs at Wembley on the weekend. That was a huge point for them to take them on to five points from five games in the top flight this season. Those points have been earned by just the two goals scored from them and they are just not looking threatening to anyone going forward. In the Coral anytime goalscorer market, you will need to look at the starting line ups to see what’s going on there in terms of value. Swansea lack goals and that will make this tricky for them. They did take a 4-1 win at the MK Dons in the last round, which is double the amount of goals that they have scored all season in the top flight. Leroy Fer and Jordan Ayew were among the goals that night and are 5/2 and 7/4 respectively in the market for the Swans ahead of this one. The last time that these two met in the League Cup was back in 2007 and Reading won that 1-0. The Royals have a W3 D1 L0 record from four previous League Cup ties against the Swans.
Reading v Swansea EFL Cup Betting Odds
Swansea 11/10, Reading 5/2, Draw 23/10
Reading v Swansea EFL Cup Predictions
Draw: A 90 minute draw looks quite probable in this one because neither of them packs much of a punch going forward. Both are lacking goals so look under 2.5 goals and with both of them likely to make changes to their regular starting elevens, this may not be a classic.
