The race for promotion to the Premier League from the Championship looks set to be another close one. Two of the teams hoping to clinch top-flight football next season, Reading and Bournemouth meet on Friday night at the Madejski Stadium.
There are just two points between fifth-place Reading and sixth-place Bournemouth heading into this clash. However, the former are trailing second-place Swansea by just a point in the fight for automatic promotion.
The Royals are currently on a five-game unbeaten run in the Championship, having recorded three wins and two draws. Last time out, they were held to a 0-0 draw by Preston.
The draw at Preston means that Reading have conceded just once in their last four league outings, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Although the Royals have won their last two home games in the Championship, they have won four and lost four of their last eight league outings on home soil. However, Reading have been relatively prolific at the Madejski Stadium of late, scoring at least two goals in four of their previous six Championship matches on their own patch.
This could be a massive game for the Cherries, who are now five points adrift of Swansea City in the race for those all-important two automatic promotion spots.
Jason Tindall’s side has encountered a dip in league form of late, as the Cherries have now won just one of their last six matches in the second tier. A 1-0 defeat at Derby County last time out also means that the visitors have suffered back-to-back league defeats without scoring.
If the team from the south coast want to finish in the automatic promotion spots then their away form must improve, as the Cherries have won just one of their last five away games in the second tier.
There is not much between these two teams, so, unsurprisingly, Forebet predicts that this clash will produce a low-scoring draw.