Huddersfield v Reading
15:00
Huddersfield needed penalties to get past Sheffield Wednesday in the semis and Reading were also reliant on a spot kick as Yann Kermorgant’s 49th minute penalty was enough to earn them a 2-1 aggregate win over Fulham. For Huddersfield, victory here would see them return to the top tier of English football for the first time since 1972, whilst Reading last featured in the Premier League in 2012/13.
Huddersfield’s form heading into the playoffs was a concern as they lost three of their final four regular season games but they got the job done when it mattered most against Wednesday and are 2.25 favourites to follow up here. However, we’re not so sure they should be so short as they trailed Reading in the final league standings, whilst the Royals had a much better finish to the season and didn’t have to go through extra-time or penalties against Fulham.
Jap Staam’s men won seven of their last nine games and they have an in-form striker in Yann Kermorgant, who has nine goals and four man of the match awards in his last 10 games. However, they remain vulnerable at the back as they kept just one clean sheet in the last seven of these. Indeed, these were the worst sides defensively of anyone in the top-seven in the regular season so there could be goals here, which would go against the grain as far as this fixture is concerned in recent times as three of the last four finals have seen fewer than two goals. That’s not to say that there can’t be goals as Reading lost out 4-2 to Swansea the last time they featured in 2010/11 after Blackpool beat Cardiff 3-2 the previous year. Over 2.5 Goals looks a big price at 2.25, whilst we’re also going to side with Reading Draw No Bet.
Recommendations: Over 2.5 Goals at 2.25 Reading Draw No Bet at 2.25
Betting intelligence provided by Football Form Labs
