Millwall vs Reading prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-08-26 14:00.
Few will be surprised if there is any major alteration to Millwall’s current mid-table position in the Championship by the end of the campaign, given the South Londoners have finished between 8th and 11th in four of their last five seasons. Surpassing the fine line between mid-table comfort and troubling the play-off positions has proved historically problematic for Gary Rowett’s men, with a 2-0 defeat to Norwich last weekend hardly inspiring dreams of a first-ever Premier League appearance.
Friday’s defeat at Carrow Road means the Lions have conceded the opening goal in each of their last four league fixtures, conceding before the tenth minute in three of those games.
Shutting up shop in the early minutes on Saturday may therefore be a sensible approach if Millwall are to substantiate their favourites tag, with the hosts able to point to a run of just one defeat in their previous 13 home league games (W10, D2) to justify the bookies’ decision.
Despite being some people's favourites for relegation to League One this season, back-to-back wins and clean sheets for Reading for the first time since October have lifted the Royals to third place after five games. They won’t get ahead of themselves though, and having guided his side to safety with two games to play last season, Paul Ince will demand more of this defensive solidity as they chase what would be only their second league win in ten away contests (D2, L6).
Ince claims pundits “need to start giving them credit” after their impressive 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Saturday, with new signing Tyrese Fornah grabbing the winner. He’s one of nine new additions to the Reading squad, all of whom arrived either on loan or for free. Amidst a poor recent H2H against Saturday’s opponents (D1, L4), Ince will hope this shrewd transfer activity can help the Royals pick up a first league victory at The Den since 2014.
Players to watch: Millwall striker Benik Afobe scored the only goal in this fixture last season, with eight of his 12 league strikes coming at The Den, while clinical forward Lucas João has netted in four of Reading’s last eight league victories.
Hot stat: Reading have conceded the opening goal in seven of their last eight games on the road, failing to win any of those fixtures (D2, L5).