Our prediction for this Championship match:
Stoke City will be aiming to record their first league win since December 19, 2020 when they take on Reading at Bet365 Stadium on Matchday 28. The Potters played out a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town at the weekend despite the fact that Norrington-Davies was sent off on the stroke of half-time. The talented defender misses the Reading game through suspension, but he should be the only absentee in the home team.
The Royals, on the other hand, aim to build on a 3-1 win over Bournemouth. Veljko Paunovic is still doing an amazing job with the Madejski Stadium outfit, but beating Stoke City on the road is easier said than done. Since the Potters want this win more than the Royals, we predict that the visitors are going to return home empty-handed. The likes of Araruna, Moore, and Puscas are likely to miss the game with injuries.
Highlighted Player (Joe Allen):
Joe Allen is another high-quality footballer from the new generation of Wales internationals, who was part of the team that took Swansea from League One to the Premier League, and he had no problems adapting to arguably the strongest league championship in Europe.
Allen operated as a deep-lying playmaker as the Swans impressed upon reaching the elite division, with his excellent passing skills persuading Liverpool to splash £15 million on his services. The central midfielder didn’t exactly manage to develop into an indispensable member of the side at Anfield, but he is considered an important squad player and has always performed well when called upon.
Meanwhile, he has been one of the pillars of the most successful team in the Wales history together with Gareth Bale, Ashley Williams and Aaron Ramsey, while even representing Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Allen started five games for the Dragons as they secured the first ever appearance at the European Championship finals.
Highlighted Team (Reading):
Reading FC is a professional football club that play in the Championship. The club was formed in 1871 and Madejski Stadium has been the home of Reading since 1998. The Royals used to play their home games at Elm Park in the past (1896 - 1998). Reading made it to the FA Cup semi-finals on two occasions (1927, 2015), but they have yet to win the prestigious trophy.
The likes of Robin Friday, Trevor Senior, Steve Death, Shaka Hislop, Phil Parkinson, Alf Messer, Jimmy Quinn, Michael Gilkes, Ronnie Blackman, Pavel Pogrebnyak and Martin Hicks are some of their more notable footballers. Aldershot Town were considered Reading’s fiercest rivals, but the Shots went out of business in 1992.
Seeing that Aldershot rejoined the league in 2008 it remains to be seen if the rivalry is going to be re-established in near future. Swindon Town and Oxford United are considered Reading’s big rivals as well.