Reading V West Bromwich Albion Betting: Saturday, 13th February (FA Cup)

Reading V West Bromwich Albion

Saturday, 13^th February – 15:00 GMT

Reading

FA Cup Outright Odds: 125/1 bWin

Despite claiming the scalps of both Liverpool & Burnley, both Premiership sides, in the earlier rounds, Reading aren’t fancied to make too much more inroads in regards to the FA Cup, with Reading a best price 125/1 to go all the way and cause a major cup upset. That’s huge odds for a side that has been this seasons FA Cup giant killers, and they could yet still have another big result in their locker as they welcome their fifth round opponents, West Brom, to The Madjeski.

The Reading fans, whom have seen this tournament as a welcome distraction from what has been a drastic league campaign thus far, were treated to a match winning display on Tuesday night when reading seen off one of their relegation rivals by beating a lowly Plymouth 2-1 via an injury time penalty. In fact, that was Reading’s third win on the spin, fourth if you count their victory over Burnley in the previous round, so the confidence around The Madjeski should be sky-high you would feel.

The players, after some hard work and gutsy performances, have significantly boosted their hopes of survival with a potentially season changing run of three league wins on the spin. Neither were against particularly strong sides but all were massive in boosting their survival hopes and the morale of the camp and the man at the heart of this recent surge of points has been Shane Long, scorer of four of Reading’s last five goals and match winner against Liverpool in the third round. Long has been in inspired form for The Royals, often scoring with his head, and manager Brian McDermott will be asking for more of the same from the Republic of Ireland international in this crucial fixture with West Brom.

If it wasn’t for Reading’s recent good form at The Madjeski, winning their last three home fixtures in all competitions, then we would probably lump on the Baggies ourselves. This impressive yet small run of theirs has thrown a spanner in the works considering Reading’s record at home on the whole hasn’t been great, with Reading managing just one win at The Madjeski in the first half of the season. They’ve also struggled in front of goal at home, with a measly 12 goals in 14 home games, one of the more apparent reasons why Reading are so far down in the league table.

West Bromwich Albion

FA Cup Outright Odds: 50/1 totesport

Roberto Di Matteo will fancy his sides chances of progressing further in the tournament when they face a team they beat 3-1 earlier in the season. West Brom comfortably saw off their Championship opponents Reading, at The Hawthorns back in the middle of October. The away trip shouldn’t phase them, especially as Reading’s home form has been extremely weak this season, and so, West Brom could attract plenty of support from neutral fans at the weekend… to which it will either be a blessing for the bookies or a nightmare.

West Brom are a personal favourite of ours in The Championship because they are very consistent… on the whole. Our only niggle with them is they can go astray at times, even after a superb run of results. There have been several occasions this season where West Brom simply haven’t bothered to turn up, with some lousy performances from the players leading to West Brom coming away from certain games empty handed. However, these rare blips are just that; rare, and we feel they’ll need little motivation for this clash what with their being a place in the quarter-finals at stake in a competition they got to the semi’s in two seasons ago. 

A huge positive for all you West Brom backers, and we will be one of them, is their stunning away exploits this season in The Championship. Their only away win in this competition to date maybe just a routine win at the Galpharm against League One Huddersfield Town but they’ve won no less than eight times on the road in the league, just one less than they’ve managed at The Hawthorns, but losing just once in the process. Only Barnsley have beaten West Brom when the Baggies have gone a travelling, with West Brom unbeaten in ten away outings.  

Just like Reading, West Brom are also enjoying a nice piece of form having won their last four league games, although their run is amply supported by a stunning 4-2 win at home to Newcastle. They can score plenty of goals on their travels; 30 in total, just one less than their home tally, but their still equally as impressive at the back having conceded just 16 away goals, one less than the fifteen they’ve conceded at The Hawthorns and one less than Reading have let in at The Madjeski.

How they got here?

Reading

Drew Liverpool 1-1 (H)

Beat Liverpool 2-1 aet (A)

Beat Burnley 1-0 (H)

West Bromwich Albion

Beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 (A)

Beat Newcastle United 4-2 (H)

Match Verdict: West Bromwich Albion to WIN – 2.63 Bet365

West Brom are a reliable away team as they play just as well on the road as they do at home, if not better in fact. So, we feel The Baggies are a glorious bet on Saturday considering their odds are fabulous and their opponents are naf. West Brom have been to some tough venues this season and come away with not only their pride still intact but also with some points, plenty of them. They generally put in solid displays away from home and after two successive to NIL victories, we feel West Brom are the team to be on in this contest.

Match Odds:

Reading – 2.75 SkyBet

Draw – 3.40 PaddyPower

West Bromwich Albion – 2.63 Bet365

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Over 2.5 Goals – 1.91 Boylesports