Reading vs Wigan prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-04-28 14:00.
Reading are running out of time to save themselves from their first season in England’s third tier for 30 years after registering their 21st loss of the Championship season with an unsuccessful trip to Coventry (L 2-1). Starting the penultimate round inside the danger zone, there’ll be an aura of knockout football coming early to the competition when they face Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield, two clubs also fighting for survival, in their final games.
It’s a high-stakes initiation for interim boss Noel Hunt, who prior to this two-match stint (D1, L1) had just two games of first team managerial experience at Swindon in November 2020. Nothing changed during his home debut two starts back as, for a second time in three Championship home fixtures, Reading had to settle for a 1-1 draw after Andy Carroll opened the scoring. Prior to that, Reading had a near-perfect home Championship record when scoring first (W8, D1), something Hunt will wish to reclaim.
Shaun Maloney, the new manager of last-placed Wigan, also had a difficult introduction to the Championship, winning just two of his first 14 games in charge of the team (D6, L6) prior to back-to-back triumphs against Stoke (1-0 away) and Millwall (2-1 home) that have maintained their slim chances of survival. Praising their “fighting spirit” against Millwall, Maloney confidently declared the miraculous comeback “is on”.
For all of their troubles this season, Wigan have been surprisingly tough to beat when visiting the weaker clubs of the competition, winning the majority of Championship away trips to teams currently ranked 16th or lower (W4, D1, L2)! To keep the dream alive, Maloney is going to have to avoid one mistake made by predecessor Leam Richardson, which was to follow their previous two-game winning streak up with a loss to Reading (1-0) back in September!
Players to watch: Carroll’s two-game suspension means that Tom Ince, who delivered the match winner in the reverse H2H, is their most recent active player to score in a Championship home game. Will Keane’s persistence in front of goal has finally been rewarded from a team perspective after he struck the opener in each of their two recent wins for a total of 12 goalscoring appearances this season.
Hot streak: These teams have not produced a 1-1 draw in 18 consecutive H2Hs since 2004/05.