Sports Blog 16/12/2015: Match Preview – Hull vs Reading, Wednesday 16th December 2015

Can interim manager Martin Kuhl rack up his first win in charge when Reading visit Hull at 7.45pm on Sky Sports 1?

It’s a torrid time to be a Royals fan; the south east side have picked up 6 points from their last 9 games, winning 1 (against bottom of the table Bolton), drawing 3 (against Rotherham, Brighton and Huddersfield) and losing 5. That compares to 6 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses in their first 11 games, a rather abrupt turn of face that has left Steve Clarke jobless and Reading stuck in the bottom half of the table. Clarke’s dismissal came following a limp 1-0 loss at QPR, with Kuhl overseeing last weekend’s defeat to Preston North End.

Yet a victory for Reading on Wednesday would see the side leap from 13th to either 8th or 9th, dependant on how much they (potentially) win by. More importantly, it would leave them a mere 4 points away from the play-off zone, somewhat remarkable given just how bad they have been since mid-October. However, Reading haven’t scored in their last 2 games, and will need Nick Blackman, the club’s top scorer with 11 goals but absent from the scoresheet since mid-October, to re-find his form if they are to get a result against Hull. Blackman goes into Wednesday night at Super Mega Player Goal Minutes spread of 12-16, with Orlando Sa (on 5 goals) at 10-14 and Matej Vydra (on 2 goals) at 9-13.



Despite 2 losses (against Derby and Leeds) in their last 3 Championship games Hull are in a much better position than Reading. Whilst a win wouldn’t move the Tigers from 4th place, it would see them sit on 41 points, equal to 3rd place Derby and only 2 behind both 1st and 2nd place Middlesbrough and Brighton. They even managed to reach the 5th round of the Capital One Cup, beating Premier League leaders Leicester in the 4th round only to be knocked out in a heavy 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Steve Bruce will be looking to continue his campaign for an immediate return to England’s top flight with a win over Reading on Wednesday; yet he will have to do so without the help of his captain, Michael Dawson out with a knee injury (sustained in Hull’s 1-0 win over Bolton last weekend) for the entirety of the holiday season. And like Reading Hull have also had problems with consistency upfront; top scorer Abel Hernandez (on 8 goals and a Super Mega PGM of 28-33) hasn’t found the back of the net since his extra-time strike against Leicester in the League Cup, whilst Arsenal loanee Chuba Akpom (at a Super Mega PGM of 18-22) has only scored 4 times.

Given both sides relative troubles up front Spreadex are offering a fairly low Total Goals spread of 2.15-2.35; and though the Tigers have wobbled a bit in the last month it is nothing compared to the collapse at Reading, leading our traders to fancy the home side at a Hull/Reading Goal Supremacy spread of 0.5-0.7.