Reading Relegation Battle

Reading 2012/13 Premier League season betting have seen a positive upswing since the festive period. After losing seven matches on the bounce between November 24th and December 22nd of 2012, and looking doomed to a return to the Championship, the Royals are looking like they may have survival skills after all. Since a 1-0 loss to Man City on December 22nd, Reading rattled off four wins in their next seven fixtures, losing just one match in that streak. With 25 matches played in the season, suddenly there is a glimmer of hope for the Royals, who have done a tremendous job of getting themselves clear of the relegation zone. They haven’t pulled clear enough away to relax, but at least some form has been with them, and they have been winning games where others around them have been struggling to do so.

So can Brian McDermott’s men beat the drop? Bookmakers still have them as one of the four favourites to take the brutal drop back down to the Championship. But with QPR and Aston Villa looking as if they are going to have almighty struggles to get themselves out of relegation dangers, the path, given the improved form and confidence of the Royals through the early stages of 2013, looks a little clearer for Reading in being able to maintain their Premier League status. The advantage that Reading have over some of the other relegation threatened sides around them, is that they have been showing a decent eye for goal. Their defence could still land them in trouble, but some greatly renewed spirit and opportunism going forward has benefited them.

The Royals also have one of the better goal differences of the teams around them and that is going to be worth an extra point to them. After 25 completed fixtures of the 2012/13 Premier League season, Reading were almost averaging a point per game and if that were to average out over the thirteen remaining fixtures for them, that would probably just give them enough to be safe. But it still would only be around the 36 point mark realistically, which could be really borderline for them surviving this season. So work to do for the Royals, but they are in better shape than the likes of Aston Villa and QPR, especially in terms of form in winning games. Three wins from their first five games in 2013 has breathed new life into them.

So some trends we have picked up for Reading 2012/13 Premier League betting from the first two thirds of the season. They are a good side at Madejski, not so much away. Over the first 25 games of the season, they lost 23% of their home matches but a massive 75% away from home. Over 25 games, Reading picked up 78% of all their points on home soil. At home they have generally been worth backing over 2.5 goals, with 70% of all home games going over the mark. So there is plenty of value left in Reading betting for their remaining fixtures of the season. There has a big scoreline trend of losing 1-0 away from home, which happened in one fifth of their first twelve away matches. At home, 2-2, 2-1 wins and 0-0 have been the most frequent home results for them.