Reading v Coventry: Both sides can oblige at the MadStad

Reading v Coventry
Tuesday January 19, 18:00
Sky Sports

Well-rested Reading

Reading should arrive at Tuesday night's showdown well-rested following the postponement of Saturday's match at Brentford because of Covid-19 cases within the Bees camp. The Royals made mass changes for their FA Cup third round defeat against Luton and therefore haven't fielded their strongest suit for well over a fortnight.

The returning Lucas Joao made it 16 goals for the season when he scored twice in 13 second-half minutes to secure a come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Huddersfield for Veljko Paunovic's troops in their most recent Championship contest. The Portuguese forward led the line superbly in Reading's preferred 4-2-3-1 system, although injuries continue to bite.

The Royals come into Tuesday night's clash still missing captain and centre-back Liam Moore, fellow defender Andy Yiadom, Everton loanee Lewis Gibson and forward Yakou Meite through injury. However, in-demand Michael Olise could return to the starting XI, whilst left-back Omar Richards continues despite heavy interest from Bayern Munich.

Weekend off for Coventry

Coventry's scheduled Saturday showdown with Sheffield Wednesday was postponed due to positive Covid-19 tests in the Owls camp and so, like Reading, the Sky Blues enjoyed the weekend off. Mark Robins' men return to action following a 2-0 loss to Norwich in the FA Cup 10 days ago where two goals in the space of 80 devastating seconds proved decisive.

Despite carving out three chances early opportunities of their own, Coventry suddenly found themselves trailing at Carrow Road, conceding twice inside the opening 10 minutes. That sucker-punch left the Sky Blues stunned, although Robins' outfit again created plenty after the break with Maxime Biamou twice being denied by an inspired home goalkeeper.

Injuries have hit Coventry hard in recent months with the loss of strikers Matty Godden and Tyler Walker, first choice goalkeeper Marko Marosi, skipper Liam Kelly and star defender Michael Rose among the key casualties. However, Marosi and forward Wesley Jobello are back in training and new on-loan forward Viktor Gyokeres is also available for selection.

Royals rated by the layers

Coventry were 3-2 winners when the two teams crossed swords at St Andrew's in late October but that's the Sky Blues' only success in 11 meetings with Reading over the past 15 years. The Royals enjoyed the upper-hand in league match-ups during that sample, securing five victories and five draws since City last triumphed at the Madjeski Stadium in 2005.

Reading 2.186/5 made a club-record-breaking start to the season (W7-D1-L0) before progress began to stall. But Veljko Paunovic's men appear to have steadied the ship, taking seven points from three fixtures since Christmas, although the Royals' results on home soil have been hard to second-guess of late with a W3-D0-L4 return here going back to November.

Coventry 3.7511/4 appear to have consolidated following a tricky opening stanza since returning to the second-tier. The Sky Blues have suffered just two defeats in their past 12 league tussles (W4-D6-L2) but seven defeats from 12 road trips continues to cause concern, particularly with a W0-D2-L5 record when travelling to clubs in 13th and above this term.

Both sides can oblige

The Championship has proven relatively goal-shy in 2020/21 - the league is only averaging 2.21 goals per-game with 38% of matches featured Over 2.5 Goals. However, Reading's encounters have been amongst the division's most goal-heavy with 2.70 delivered on average and 57% of fixtures producing Over 2.5 Goals 2.166/5 profit.

The Royals have scored in 19 of their 23 tussles and should expect to trouble a Coventry backline that's posted only six shutouts at this level since promotion. The Sky Blues themselves have failed to notch in five of seven Championship outings, but should be encouraged by Reading's tally of three shutouts in their past 16 league dates.

With that in mind, it may to take Both Teams To Score at 1.9010/11. It's collected in seven (58%) of Coventry's 12 away days, as well as four of Reading's last five Madjeski Stadium match-ups.