Everton to conquer high-scoring Reading
For the second time in three years, Everton fans fancy their chances of ending a season that started so disappointingly with a trip to Wembley after claiming a big scalp in an FA Cup fourth round replay, and a place in the quarter-finals awaits if they get the better of Reading at Goodison Park tonight.
Whereas it was Liverpool that they dumped out two years ago, a club that Reading of course have experience of eliminating too, their 2009 conquerors Chelsea were their victims this time around and as a result, the Toffees are [9.8] fourth favourites to earn their first trophy under David Moyes.
Reading won't be a pushover, as they showed by following last year's shock success facing Liverpool by beating Burnley and West Brom, but Everton have only lost once to lower league opposition since Moyes' 2002 arrival - it was a regular occurrence prior to that - and as such are [1.5] favourites.
Thanks to our special offer for those opening new Betfair accounts, you can bet up to £25 on this match and have your stake refunded if your punt proves unsuccessful.
One thing worth noting though is that whereas [8.4] underdogs Reading haven't won in four away games, the Royals - as you might expect of a team boasting the attacking talents of Shane Long and Noel Hunt and the set-piece threat of fellow Irishman Ian Harte - are very rarely shut out.
Brian McDermott's side have scored 12 times in their last six outings on the road so odds of [2.04] on both teams scoring should be snapped up. Long is arguably the standout option in the to score market at [4.0] having fired 13 times in 16 appearances, while 2-1 ([9.6]) and 3-1 ([14.0]) tempt as score punts.
Everton v Reading
Kick-off: 7.30pm
Live on ESPN
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Published: 1 Mar 2011
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