Our prediction for this Championship match:
Stoke City
Match Time & Date:
07/08/2021
16:00
Prediction: 1-1
Reading
Stoke City and Reading go head to head at Bet365 Stadium in the opening match of the season. The Potters were having their ups and downs in pre-season, but they proved their worth in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton. Captain Joe Allen is still part of the team, while new signings Mario Vrancic is likely to make his Stoke City debut against Reading. Anyhow, we predict that the Potters, who are a real force to be reckoned with at home, will grab something from the season opener.
The Royals, on the other hand, were struggling at the back in pre-season. Veljko Paunovic’s men are eager to make a flying start to the new Championship campaign, but beating Stoke on the road is easier said than done. As always, a man to keep an eye on in the away team will be Lucas Joao, who scored 19 goals in the Championship last season.
Highlighted Player (Steven Fletcher):
Steven Fletcher is a professional footballer who plays for Sheffield Wednesday. After ending his loan spell with Marseille, he joined the Owls on a free transfer in July 2016. Steven Fletcher was born in Shrewsbury, England on 26 March, 1987 and he began his youth career at Hibernian.
He made his debut for the Scottish outfit on 10 April, 2004 in a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock. After spending three years at Burnley and Wolverhampton Fletcher signed a four-year deal with Sunderland for a fee of £12 million. The left-footed attacker scored 11 goals in 28 appearances for the Black Cats in the 2012/2013 Premier League campaign and he was struggling in front of goal in the 2013/2014 season, scoring no more than three league goals.
Steven Fletcher was eligible to play for both England and Scotland, but he decided to represent his mother’s home country. Fletcher made his Scotland debut in March 2008, in a friendly against Croatia. He did well to provide an assist for Kenny Miller, who scored the equaliser for the Scotts (1-1).
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.
Man City 
Everton
Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 
Chelsea 
Fulham
Newcastle 
Aston Villa 
Nottingham Forest 
Tottenham
Southampton 
West Ham 
