Vincent West
Dailysports's expert
Bristol Rovers
Reading
On April 26, "Memorial Stadium" will host the 45th round match of England's League One, where "Bristol Rovers" will face "Reading". I suggest betting on goals/cards/winner for this match.
"Bristol Rovers"
The team represents a well-known, historic, yet not the most football-centric city. Much like Manchester, it's crucial for local teams to outshine their rival neighbors. Currently, there's little to boast about: "City" is trying to fight for a spot in the Premier League, albeit through the Championship playoffs. As for "Rovers", last season was blatantly mediocre with 57 points and a fifteenth-place finish in the third division.
Now, the club is merely trying to avoid dropping to League Two. And while it recently seemed that the battle for survival was going well, since mid-March, it's been nothing but defeats, pushing them out of the top 20. They managed to trip "Wrexham", but lost to "Stevenage" in the last round, which sent them back into the relegation zone.
"Reading"
The club relatively recently competed, albeit without notable success, at the Premier League level. However, massive financial problems have left them in a state where even just avoiding relegation to the fourth division, amidst debts and point deductions, was a genuine achievement last season.
Now, however, economic issues are far from disappearing - yet the team is showing ambitions to fight for a return to the Championship, even if through playoffs! They slipped against "Lincoln City", but after that defeat, they thrashed "Mansfield", keeping "Leyton Orient" within reach.
Match Facts
- "Bristol Rovers" have lost seven of their last eight matches
- On average, "Bristol Rovers" score 0.98 goals and concede 1.59 goals per match
- "Reading" have lost only once since the beginning of February
H2H
"Reading" are unbeaten in their last seven head-to-head official matches and won both encounters in 2024.
Bristol Rovers vs Reading Prediction
Bookmakers believe the visitors will win. A safe bet seems to be on "Reading" with a handicap "0" (odds - 1.65).
