League One leaders Bradford City will begin life without Graham Alexander when they travel to the Select Car Leasing Stadium to take on Reading on Saturday.
Alexander, who led Bradford to promotion from League Two and then into the League One play-offs last season, departed the club earlier this week to take over at Championship strugglers Preston North End.
He leaves the Bantams in good health, as they sit top of the third tier and are on a five-match winning run across all competitions, although this will mark their first league game since 19th September.
Reading are also going well, sitting just a point off the play-off positions, and they have won their last three league games at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Reading v Bradford City Tips Summary
Best Bet - Bradford City to win @ 21/20
Alternative Bet - Jack Marriott to score anytime @ 5/4
Bet Builder - Jack Marriott to score anytime, Bobby Pointon to score anytime & Over 2 goals @ 11/1
Reading v Bradford City Prediction
Best Bet: Bradford City to win @ 21/20
The departure of Alexander is no doubt a blow to Bradford, but this is still a team in form and they offer real value to extend their winning streak to six on Saturday.
The Bantams have won without conceding at promotion rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Luton Town this season, as well as keeping a clean sheet and taking three points at Notts County.
Bradford’s one road loss came against a very strong Plymouth Argyle side and they head to Berkshire in fine form as they bid to extend a five-game winning run across all competitions.
Reading have been excellent at home since losing a seven-goal thriller to Luton on the opening weekend of the season.
The Royals have picked up wins over Notts County, Blackpool and Mansfield Town but that trio of teams all sit below them in the standings and will probably be in the bottom half come the end of the season, whereas Bradford are one of the stronger teams in the third tier.
This is likely to be a close game between two fairly well-matched sides, but taking the prices into consideration, it makes sense to side with Bradford to grind out a win.
Alternative Bet: Jack Marriott to score anytime @ 5/4
Bradford are backed to win but they may concede in the process as Reading’s attack is looking sharp, largely thanks to the exploits of League One’s leading scorer Jack Marriott.
Marriott has eight goals in seven league games this season and seven of those strikes have come in Reading’s four home assignments.
The 32-year-old was unable to add to his tally in a 2-2 draw at Wycombe Wanderers last time out but he still recorded four shots on goal and he is the standout pick for an any-time effort on Saturday.
Reading v Bradford City Bet Builder Tip
Jack Marriott to score anytime
Bobby Pointon to score anytime
Over 2 goals
Pays 11/1
Marriott has scored exactly half of Reading’s League One goals this season so he is the clear choice for an any-time effort for the hosts, but Bradford are a team that have shared the goals around.
Bobby Pointon has stepped up to the plate in terms of goalscoring responsibility in recent weeks and he is the only player in the visitors squad who has registered more than one league goal so far this season.
The 22-year-old hit the only goal of the game in the win over Luton last time out and has two in his last four league appearances, while he also registered an assist when featuring as a second-half substitute in the EFL Trophy win over Newcastle United U21s.
If Marriott and Pointon score we would need just one more goal for either side to land this 11/1 treble.
Bradford’s games have been fairly low scoring but Reading’s League One matches are averaging just under four goals per game, so these sides can combine for at least three strikes on Saturday.
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Key Match Stats
Bradford City have eight wins in 11 games in all competitions this season
Reading have lost two of their last four matches (all comps)
Bradford have four away wins in five games this season (all comps)
Both teams have scored in four of Reading’s last five games
Reading’s league games average 3.9 goals per game
Bradford finished 14 points above Reading last season
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
