Álvaro Hernández
Dailysports's expert
On April 12, the "Sixfields Stadium" will host the 42nd round match of the English League One, where "Northampton" will face "Reading". I propose a bet on goals/cards/winner for this match.
Northampton
The team has only once, and that was a long time ago, made a brief appearance in the elite division of England. Moreover, having dropped to the third division half a century ago, they have not risen above it since - but they have endured a lot at the fourth level. So even finishing fourteenth in last season's League One was a good result for them.
Especially since repeating that now seems unlikely. It's more likely that they might lose their "spot" in the league by the end. But even that hasn't awakened the players, as they lost to both "Blackpool" and "Rotherham". Only against "Peterborough" did they manage a win, and convincingly at 4-0.
Reading
The club made a brief foray into the Premier League at the start of the last decade. But now it's a project desperately in need of new investors and was at risk of disappearing altogether, which is unusual for English football. Last season they were docked points for debts, including unpaid wages, starting as early as August. Finishing seventeenth in such conditions was an unexpected achievement!
Now the situation seems to have stabilized somewhat. Under the management of Noel Hunt, the team is once again pleasantly surprising. There is hope to fight for a return to the Championship, of course, through the playoffs. Since early February, they went eleven matches unbeaten - only to falter against "Blackpool" at the end of March, losing 0-3. But they then beat both "Wycombe" and "Shrewsbury".
Match facts
- "Northampton" won two out of their last nine matches
- 54% of "Town" matches end with goals from both teams, with an average total of 2.46 goals per match
- "Reading" lost one out of fourteen matches
H2H
In 2024, "Reading" won twice, but those matches were on their home turf.
Northampton vs Reading prediction
Bookmakers have slightly more faith in the hosts. But the visitors are in excellent form and should avoid defeat here (odds - 1.6).
