Reading vs Shrewsbury Town: A Royal Rumble at the SCL!
Date: Tuesday 11th February 2025
Venue: SCL Stadium, Reading
Get ready for a massive clash at the SCL Stadium this Tuesday, February 11th, 2025, as our mighty Reading take on Shrewsbury Town! I’m buzzing for this one, and I reckon we’re in for a treat. Let’s dive into why I think we’re gonna smash it!
First things first, our home form is absolutely ridiculous! We’re talking a 77% win rate at the SCL, which is just insane. Albeit this was mainly build up by our previous manager, however we have mostly the same players! Opponents tremble when they come to our ground, and I can’t blame them. We’re like a fortress, and Shrewsbury are walking into a Royal lion’s den. Our average expected goals (xG) at home is 1.30, meaning we create loads of chances. I’m picturing goals galore! The bookies have us as clear favorites at 1.67, and they’re not wrong. We’re gonna dominate!
Okay, I know I’m biased, but let’s be real, Shrewsbury’s away record is… well, it’s not pretty. They’ve only won 7% of their away games, and they’ve lost a whopping 71%. Ouch. Their away xG is a measly 1.01, which tells you they struggle to create chances on the road. Our defense is way stronger than that, so I don’t see them causing us too many problems. They’ll be lucky to get a sniff at goal, in my opinion.
Everyone’s talking about goals in this match. The odds for over 2.5 goals are at 1.70, and over 0.5 goals is practically guaranteed at 1.04. Historically, these two teams always have a goal-fest, with 100% of their previous meetings having at least one goal. I’m expecting a high-scoring game, maybe even a cricket score! Both teams to score (BTTS) is at 1.67, which is decent odds. I think we’ll definitely score a few, and Shrewsbury might nick one, but I’m confident we’ll outscore them.
Corners could be important too. The average corner count is 7.81, so we might see a few set-piece opportunities. Fouls and cards are something to watch out for as well, with an average of 4.11 yellow cards per game. Hopefully, our players will keep their cool and not get any silly bookings. Reading’s clean sheet probability is low (No at 1.48), which kind of backs up my prediction of both teams scoring. Shrewsbury keeping a clean sheet? Forget about it! The odds are a massive 5.25. They’ve got no chance!
Looking at the team trends, Reading have picked up 4 points from our last 5 games. Not the best, but we’ve scored 4 goals in that time. Shrewsbury’s defense will have to be on their toes because we’ve scored in our last 4 home games. We have struggled a bit going forward recently, failing to score in 2 of our last 5, but I think this is the game where we unleash our attacking prowess. We’ve only had 2 of our last 5 games with both teams scoring, but I’ve got a feeling this one will be different. We’ve won 1 of those 5 games, so we need to get back to winning ways. Overall this season, BTTS has landed in 17/28 of our games.
Shrewsbury have picked up 6 points from their last 5 games, which is slightly better than us. They’ve also scored 4 goals in that period. However, they’ve struggled to score in 3 of their last 5 games, which is a good sign for us. They’ve failed to score in 12 games this season, which is 43% of their games. That’s a terrible record! In their last 5 games, they’ve only scored 4 goals. They definitely need a new striker! Just like us, only 2 of their last 5 games have had both teams scoring. They’ve won 2 of those 5 games. Overall this season, BTTS has landed in 14/28 of their games.
Looking at the head-to-head record, the last time we played them, they beat us 2-3. That was a tough one to take, and we’ll be looking for revenge. Out of the 2 times we’ve played them, they’ve won both times. We haven’t managed to beat them yet, which is something we need to change. Previous matches between us have had loads of goals, averaging 5 per game, and BTTS has happened in all of them. This season, we’ve averaged 2.31 points per game at home, while they’ve only averaged 0.6 points per game away. That tells you everything you need to know!
Let’s talk about some of the key players. For Reading, Harvey Knibbs is our top scorer with 9 goals, followed by Charlie Savage and Lewis Wing with 4 each. Wing is also our assist king with 6 assists. Tyler Bindon has made the most appearances for us this season with 29. Amadou Salif Mbengue is our most booked player with 7 cards.
For Shrewsbury, John Marquis is their top scorer with 8 goals, followed by George Lloyd with 5. Malvind Benning has the most assists for them with 4. George Lloyd has also made the most appearances for them with 28. Aaron Pierre is their most booked player with 8 cards.
It’s interesting to see some players who have played for both clubs. David Edwards, Jamie Cureton, Gylfi Sigurðsson, Josh Laurent, and Michael Hector have all worn both shirts. David Button has even played in goal for both teams.
The referee for this match is Abigail Byrne. She’s a pretty experienced referee, even though this is her first League One game. She’s refereed in the Women’s Super League and even some international matches. Hopefully, she’ll have a good game and not make any dodgy decisions.
So, there you have it! I’m super confident that Reading will win this one. We’re strong at home, Shrewsbury are weak away, and we’ve got the attacking firepower to tear them apart. I’m predicting a 2-1 win for Reading, and my Dad is more optimistic with him saying it will be a 3-1 win to Reading! Come on you Royals!
#UpTheDing
