QPR v Reading: Championship best bets and preview
High-flying pair QPR and Reading meet in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday night. Michael Beardmore likes the look of some right Royal prices on the visitors.
Football betting tips: Championship
1pt Reading to win at 7/2 (SBK)
0.5pt Junior Hoilett to be shown a card at 6/1 (Bet365)
It would take a brave man to bet on QPR and Reading both finishing in the Sky Bet Championship top six – but that’s where they reside with more than a quarter of the season in the books.
Their positions are probably a pleasant surprise for the respective supporters, particularly in the case of Reading, who would have been relegated last season if not for Derby’s whopping points penalties.
Paul Ince guided them to safety by four points and has overseen an impressive start to the new campaign, despite hardly being greeted with universal joy when he took charge in Berkshire.
Rangers, meanwhile, fell away at the end of last season after spending much of the campaign in or around the top six under Mark Warburton but seem to have adapted quickly to new rookie boss Michael Beale’s system and demands.
QPR are warm favourites to win this, odds-on everywhere, and I think the markets are bordering on disrespectful to the visitors. I approached this preview thinking the outright market would be one to swerve but I can't ignore the value on a READING WIN.
Reading are third in the Championship, a point and a place better off than their hosts, and I don’t understand the disparity in the win prices. The 7/2 top price on a Royals victory looks large given not only their fantastic recent form but other factors too.
Rangers’ home record is average (W2 D2 L1) and they sat 13th in the home table last year – indeed their best results this term have been on the road, including fine wins at Watford, Millwall and, perhaps most impressively, Sheffield United in midweek.
In another mark against the Hoops, six-goal top scorer Chris Willock limped off with a hamstring injury not long after netting the winner at Bramall Lane and is considered a big doubt for this one.
Reading, meanwhile, have admittedly twice lost 4-0 on their travels but have also picked up victories at Millwall and Wigan – and have won six of their past nine overall including two of their past three away. With no expecations, they're free-rolling a bit.
The double chance (Reading or draw) is even money but the Royals are “hot or cold” – usually either very good or pretty bad, hardly ever in between, one draw in 12 games proof of that – so the outright win price is the better gamble given the value.
With the likes of Andy Carroll, Tom Ince, Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite, the Royals have plenty of firepower to trouble their hosts – in addition to former Rangers favourite Junior Hoilett.
The Canada international, 32, seems to have the bit between his teeth as he approaches what will be his first – and perhaps only – World Cup this winter.
Whether it’s Carroll or Joao he supports up front, Hoilett is the man doing the chasing – and his 2.3 tackles per game and 1.3 fouls per game are among the highest of any player in a Reading shirt.
He has three bookings to his name in 11 starts this season and, factoring in he’s going back to an old home ground to get the blood pumping even more, the generous 6/1 on HOILETT TO BE SHOWN A CARD has to be worth a small play.
QPR v Reading best bets and score prediction
- Reading to win at 18/5 (VBet)
- Junior Hoilett to be shown a card at 6/1 (Bet365)
Score prediction: QPR 0-1 Reading (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
Odds correct at 2130 BST (05/10/22)
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