Our prediction for this Championship match:
After failing to spoil Blackburn’s party at Riverside Stadium, Reading will look to return to winning ways in the Championship when they take on Hull City on Saturday afternoon. The Royals aim to put an end to their four-game losing run, and they are likely to fight tooth and nail against the Tigers. Mamadou Loum is banned for the match, while all Andy Yiadom, Scott Dann, Yakou Meite, Junior Hoilett, Abdul-Rahman Baba, Ovie Ejaria, Sam Hutchinson, and Dejan Tetek remain in the recovery room.
Hull City, on the other hand, experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 3-1 loss to Burnley. Anyhow, Reading and Hull seem to be evenly matched at the moment, and, taking everything into account, we believe that there is a big value in betting on draw. All Ryan Woods, Cyrus Christie, Benjamin Tetteh, Aaron Connolly, Nathan Baxter, and Vaughn Covil remain on the sidelines with injuries.
Highlighted Player (Shane Long):
Shane Long is an Irish international striker who has so far made over 60 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team, scoring more than 15 goals in the process. The forward began his professional career at Cork City, but only made one league appearance for the club ahead of the switch to Reading, where he would go on to spend next seven years.
During that time, Long established himself as one of the best Irish strikers plying their trade in England, and also went on to represent West Bromwich Albion, Hull City and Southampton.
Despite not exactly boasting an enviable goalscoring record for a centre forward, Long was always held in high regard by both managers and his peers, with his incredible work rate and never-say-die attitude winning him plenty of admirers. Long will also go down as one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the Republic of Ireland national team, which he represented at the Euro 2012 and Euro 2016 finals.
Highlighted Team (Hull City):
Hull City are a professional football club that was founded back in 1904. The Tigers used to play their home games at Boothferry Park, but they moved to the KC Stadium in 2002. The stadium capacity is 24,450.
Hull impressed in the 2015/2016 Championship campaign and, as a result, they returned to the English Premier League. Hull City fans consider Leeds United their main rivals, but Sheffield United are regarded as Hull’s fierce rivals as well. Steve Bruce took over the reins at the club in 2012 and the experienced tactician helped the team book a place in the 2013/2014 FA Cup final, but Arsenal proved to be a big catch for the Tigers in the title decider.
Hull City finished the 2013/2014 Premier League campaign in 16th place in the standings to achieve their highest ever top flight finish. It has to be noted that Curtis Davies was named the team’s player of the year in the 2013/2014 season.