West Brom vs Reading prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-01-01 15:00.
Starting 2023 as they finished 2022 is the goal for West Bromwich Albion after their 2-0 win over Preston North End on Thursday made it seven Championship wins out of eight (L1) and moved them closer to the play-off positions. Itâs been an incredible resurgence since Carlos CorberĂĄn took over in October, and he declared that his side were âsuperbâ in both attack and defence against Preston.
Having closed the year with four home league wins âto nilâ, things are looking up on the field for the Baggies, even if there are question marks about their finances off the pitch after the club recently took out a hefty loan. After the clubâs first full house at The Hawthorns since May 2019, another great atmosphere should boost the players here as they aim to keep the good times rolling against a Reading side who havenât won a league H2H here since February 1988!
Reading will feel they have a decent chance of ending that barren run in the West Midlands as a late Andy Carroll penalty against Norwich City (D 1-1) means theyâll start this game one point better off than their hosts. Manager Paul Ince should therefore be pleased with his work in 2022 after masterminding a recent run which has thrust Reading towards the play-off places (W3, D1, L1).
Even he admits that Reading âarenât the team we want to be yetâ, and those play-off aspirations might need reassessing unless the Royals can improve their away form. Just one win on the road in the Championship since mid-September (D2, L5) certainly isnât the form youâd expect from potential play-off candidates, whilst conceding first in the last four of those fixtures shows the Royals are often slow out of the blocks too.
Players to watch: Okay YokuĆlu has scored three goals for West Brom this term, including a brace against Preston, all of them contributing to wins âto nilâ at home. No stranger to The Hawthorns, Carrollâs penalty against Norwich was his fourth league goal of the season, one more than he managed when playing for West Brom last term (all netted here).
Hot stat: West Brom are the only side yet to score a Championship goal at home before the 15th minute this term.