Key Points
- All signs point towards goals
- Home form key for Ferguson’s men
- 21/10 tip heavily fancied for Saturday 3pm kick-off
Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough entertain Ruben Selles’ Reading this Saturday in both teams' first League One fixture in a fortnight due to the international break.
The Royals find themselves in 10th place in the league and are just 3 points off the play-off positions ahead of the clash at London Road, with Posh 2 places and 2 points behind them in the table.
Goals galore!
Selles’ side have only won 1 game on the road this term, suffering 4 defeats from their 7 away matches and have conceded the joint-highest number of goals on their travels with 17.
Meanwhile, Peterborough are top home scorers in League One with 20 goals from their 8 games and Ferguson’s men have scored 14 times in just their last 3 matches in all competitions.
Let Posh entertain you!
When it comes to excitement and goals in League One, Peterborough is the place to be, with 33 goals scored in total across their games at London Road already.
Posh have scored an astounding 14 goals in their last 3 league games alone in front of their own fans. Having failed to score in each of their opening 2 home matches, Ferguson and his attacking side have scored in the last 8 home fixtures in a row.
At the other end of the pitch, Peterborough are yet to keep a clean sheet so far this campaign, as are Reading when they’ve been away. The Royals have also managed to score in all but 1 game on their travels, so it should make for an entertaining afternoon.
Attacks on top, backlines frail
With Peterborough’s Kwame Poku already on double figures with 10 goals and Malik Mothersille and Ricky Jade-Jones on 5 goals each respectively, it’s clear where the main goal threat is.
Moreover, having scored 8 goals between them in just their previous 2 games at London Road, Reading could find it tough to stop them from finding their groove once again in this one. For The Royals, striker Sam Smith has been hitting all the right notes this season, with Reading’s top scorer bagging 5 goals in 12 appearances so far.
The flip side to this is how open and easy to score against both teams seem to be. Ferguson’s men certainly employ a ‘we’ll score more than you’ mindset which makes for plenty of goals. It’s obvious to see how they are top scorers at home and 2nd top scorers overall, with 31 goals scored in just the 15 games so far.
However, not having kept a single clean sheet this season is a worry for Posh, but I don’t see their philosophy changing throughout the course of the campaign. Likewise with Reading conceding in all 7 away fixtures yet scoring in each of the last 6 games away from home.
Uncertain times at Reading
Royals boss Selles must take huge credit for where they find themselves currently in the league given all of the off-field problems that have blighted the club for a few seasons now.
The Portuguese head coach has navigated choppy waters in what has been a circus around him and deserves a lot of praise and respect for that. Despite this, The Royals have been poor travellers this term, with just 1 win and 5 points achieved in their 7 away games so far and the bulk of their 23 points being gained in front of the home crowd.
With the 5th-worst away record in League One and joint-worst defence, it looks like an impossible task to prevent free-scoring Posh from adding to their goals tally in this one. With heavy defeats away to Stockport, Bolton, and Wrexham already suffered, the creaky Royals defence will no doubt be breached yet again in my opinion.
No royal treatment for Reading
Studying the betting markets for this clash between two sides vying to get into the play-off places, I am firstly drawn to look at any selections pertaining to goals. With both sides having difficulty keeping the back door shut, yet the ability to find the net, it really does lend itself to thinking we could be served up a feast of goals.
The ‘goal in both halves’ seems a fair port of call, and with a best price at
Ladbrokes
of 4/9, it may seem skinny enough. After a little digging though, it’s reasonable as in 6 of Peterborough’s 8 home games, and incredibly in all 7 of Reading’s matches on the road, this has occurred.
It looks difficult to argue against this trend not carrying on when these two meet. By the numbers that’s not a terrible option. With 75% of Peterborough’s home games (3rd highest in the league) and 86% of Reading’s away games (highest in the league) ending with both teams scoring, another 4/9 shot looks highly likely and again offers a slither of value.
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Top tip: Home Win + BTTS (Yes) at 21/10 with Bet365
For our selection, I’m going for a bigger price here but am incorporating the both teams to score bet. I’m adding a Posh win too. Their recent results at London Road and Reading’s travel troubles give me a serious lean towards the home side here.
Peterborough have made it look easy and have been able to carve open opposition defences at will in recent weeks. Ferguson’s side are unbeaten in 6 on their own patch, winning 4 of these and have scored an average of over 3 goals per game in the process.
The major reason for Reading’s current 10th place position is down to their home form and I just don’t see them being able to cope with wave after wave of Posh attacks, which I envisage happening and expect the shaky Reading defence to capitulate. The official tip for the game is the ‘match result and both teams to score’ market, with “Peterborough and Yes” best priced at 21/10 with
bet365.
Hopefully Posh can leapfrog their opponents in the table and we can collect come 5pm Saturday!
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Peterborough vs Reading Best Bet
- Market:
Match Result & BTTS
- Selection:
Peterborough & Yes
- Odds:
21/10
- Stake:
1pt
- Bookie:
bet365
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