Can Blackburn put in another good performance?
In the English Championship, things get very competitive early on. Teams can’t afford to rest in the early stages of the season, with games coming up in three or four day cycles.
In the run-up to the match between Reading and Blackburn, the odds show the visitors as favourites. However, this is not too clear-cut, as an away win is also rated relatively highly.
In any case, it could be a crisp and exciting game, because both teams have quality in the squad. The game kicks off on Wednesday evening at 9pm.
Reading – Statistics & current form
Reading FC with coach Paul Ince came a little bumpy into the new season. The match on matchday 3 away at Rotherham is emblematic for that, because despite a defensive alignment with five defenders, Reading went down to the wire and lost 0:4. That did not please the coach at all, the start of the season can now definitely be described as messed up.
Three points from three league games and an EFL Cup exit against Stevenage are far from ideal. In addition, Reading did not play to nil in any of the four competitive games in the new season, so the defence is causing problems. Offensively, they failed to add a goal twice. Hoilett, Joao, Puscas, Ince, Meite: Actually, the offensive line-up is quite decent.
So things are not yet going too well on several levels. There weren’t very many new arrivals in the summer either, so it can’t be blamed on the time it took for these players to get used to the team. The false start must be corrected and a home game could be ideal for this, because here there was at least the first and a few wins in the new season to cheer for.
Reading: the defensive problems are not new
The problems at Reading, this much can be said, are not sudden, however. Even towards the end of last season, the team looked vulnerable, lethargic in some phases of the game and anything but focused. As a result, only one of the last eight games was won. The underdog role that the bookmakers ascribe to the hosts therefore comes as little surprise.
Last season, the hosts’ main shortcoming was their defence. 46 games and 87 goals conceded are not a praiseworthy record. Reading conceded too many goals both at home and away and, as a result, squandered what should have been a good starting position in some games. For the hosts, it is now a matter of not falling into such a maelstrom of negative experiences again.
As a result of the last game, the defence will receive even more attention. Therefore, in the run-up to the Reading vs Blackburn match, our prediction is that less than 2.5 goals will be scored overall.
Predicted Reading line-up:
Lumley – Abrefa, McIntyre, Holmes, Yiadom, Clarke – Loum, Fornah, Camara, Hendrick – Long
Last matches played by Reading:
Championship
13/08/2022 – Rotherham 4 – 0 Reading
Carabao Cup
10/08/2022 – Reading 1 – 2 Stevenage
Championship
06/08/2022 – Reading 2 – 1 Cardiff
30/07/2022 – Blackpool 1 – 0 Reading
Club Friendlies
23/07/2022 – Reading 1 – 2 Brighton
Blackburn – Statistics & current form
Much was written in the summer about Blackburn Rovers and the new coach on the touchline, ex-striker Jon Dahl Tomasson. The early signs under the new head coach are absolutely impressive. Blackburn are disciplined, play attractive football and have won three games so far, including a 4-0 win over Hartlepool in the EFL Cup.
In the league, there was a 1-0 home win against QPR, a 3-0 win against Swansea City and most recently a 2-1 win against West Bromwich Albion. Tomasson’s side have conceded only one goal in four league games. The defence is solid, the 4-2-3-1 system looks very fluid and solid, and up front this team always has ideas and can be very dominant, especially when constricting opponents in defence.
There have now been six wins from the last seven games across the season. The form curve factor is an absolutely positive one for the visitors, who will now naturally want to win at a struggling Reading team. The bookies, however, are still a little sceptical but at least rate a double chance X2 bet, on the visitors not losing, as very likely.
Boldened by Blackburn’s development
Blackburn weren’t doing too badly in 2021/22 either, positioning themselves in eighth place at the end. The play-offs would have been conceivable with a little more luck and without a lapse in the second half of the season. The team conceded 50 goals, which corresponds to an average of just over one goal per game. That was not too bad, especially in this tight league.
The development at the start of the new season is of course encouraging. Blackburn seem to be even more solid, the squad seems to be well coordinated, it’s just that there’s still a bit of catching up to do in terms of width. The defence is excellent, which is why our value tip before the Reading vs. Blackburn game is that not both teams will score.
Predicted Blackburn line-up:
Kaminski – Brittain, Ayala, Wharton, Pickering – Travis, Mortin, Dack – Dolan, Brereton Diaz, Gallagher
Last matches played by Blackburn:
Championship
14/08/2022 – Blackburn 2 – 1 West Bromwich
Carabao Cup
11/08/2022 – Blackburn 4 – 0 Hartlepool
Championship
06/08/2022 – Swansea 0 – 3 Blackburn
30/07/2022 – Blackburn 1 – 0 Queens Park Rangers
Club friendlies
23/07/2022 – Lincoln City 0 – 1 Blackburn
Reading – Blackburn Direct Comparison / H2H Record
The record between the two teams is very even. Reading are on eight wins so far, eight games ended in draws and nine times Blackburn won in the end. With 35:35 goals scored it even looks very balanced here. Last season there was a narrow home win in each, Reading won 1-0, Blackburn 2-0.
Reading – Blackburn Tip
Reading haven’t got off to a great start to the season and there is little to encourage the hosts at present. One element is that they now have a home game coming up and the hosts have at least managed to pick up a few points there recently. Blackburn look more mature on the field and better individually.
The four wins to start the new season have done the visitors good. Especially the defence is playing at a high level. Therefore, before the match between Reading and Blackburn, our tip is that the total will be less than 2.5 goals.
