Reading v Leeds
Saturday 1st April, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports 1
Saturday 1st April, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports 1
Reading
Reading continue to defy the performance data metrics with Jaap Stam's side sitting comfortably in the top-six after beating top-six challengers Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 away from home in their last outing.
Stam's transformed the Royals from mid-table mediocrity to genuine Premier League promotion challengers with their 67-point tally already representing the Berkshire club's best Championship campaign since 2011/12.
However, recent results haven't entirely convinced and Reading have W3-D3-L3 since January whilst also failing to score in five of those nine fixtures. Meanwhile, Paul McShane, Liam Kelly, Tiago Ilori and Jordon Mutch are all fit and available.
Leeds
An impressive 2-0 triumph over Brighton before the international break extended Leeds' unbeaten streak to seven (W4-D3-L0) and ensured the Whites sit two points and a place ahead of their Saturday night hosts.
Garry Monk dropped centre-half Pontus Jansson for the Brighton clash, preferring to partner Liam Cooper and Kyle Bartley at the back. Question marks remain over whether the Swedish defender will return here.
Elsewhere, 24-goal striker Chris Wood should feature after an injury problem on international duty with New Zealand whilst Eunan O`Kane, Stuart Dallas and Modou Barrow have all returned unscathed and Kalvin Phillips has completed his suspension. Luke Ayling remain sits out the final match of his two-game ban.
Match Odds
Reading are winless in five fixtures against Leeds (W0-D2-L3) and have fired blanks in four of those five contests. However, Leeds have failed to score in four of their last five trips to the Madejski Stadium making this an intriguing battle.
There's little love lost following a fiery encounter between the two clubs back in December when Leeds collected maximum points despite enjoying just 23% possession. Monk's men are likely to deploy a similar approach here to combat Reading's ball-hogging tactics.
The Royals 2.70 are unbeaten in six at the Mad Stad (W4-D2-L0), have won nine of their past 12 on home turf and have suffered just two defeats in Berkshire (W12-D5-L2) but only Rotherham have returned a worse shots on-target ratio figure.
Leeds 3.00 have won eight times on their travels this term - their most away triumphs since 2009/10 - and have only suffered two losses in their last eight games as guests. The visitors are a tough nut to crack but a share of the spoils seems the most likely outcome at 3.30 here.
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Reading v Leeds tends to be a low-scoring contest with 11 of the past 13 head-to-heads featuring no more than two goals. A repeat for Under 2.5 Goals backers can be backed at 1.66.
The fixture pits together two of the Championship's shyest shots on-target shooting sides but with Under 2.5 Goals only proving profitable in 18/37 (48%) of respective home/away duels this season, there's little value to be had opposing goals.
Over 2.5 Goals can be supported at 2.36 which might well be worth a poke but a better selection can be found in the Both Teams To Score market with Yes available at 1.99. Each of Leeds' last eight away games have seen both sides score, as have 21/37 (57%) of the duos home/away matches.
Recommended Bets
Back the draw @ 3.30
Back Both Teams To Score @ 1.99
