Arsenal vs Reading Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Arsenal’s winning streak came to an end on Saturday as a tired looking performance resulted in a goalless draw at home to the out of form Middlesbrough. This was the first time they have failed to score since their goalless draw against Leicester back in August and ends a seven match winning streak that had seen them score an impressive 23 goals.

Their Champions League commitments will take priority over the League Cup, and Arsene Wenger has a history of playing his fringe players in this competition. They did the same in their 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest, with new signing Lucas Perez, Mohamed Elneny, Chuba Akpom, and Reine-Adelaide among the more unfamiliar names on the team sheet.

The same is expected on Tuesday, but despite their youthful approach to the competition they have only lost two of their last seven meetings with lower league opposition in the League Cup. One of their victories was an incredible 7-5 win over Reading after extra time as well.

Arsenal have only played one League Cup fixture so far due to their European commitments, with Lucas Perez bagging two in their 4-0 hammering of Nottingham Forest. The Spanish striker has been limited to appearances off the bench in the Premier League and Champions League, but he’s expected to be their main attacking outlet on Tuesday so looks good value to score anytime at 20/21 considering the hosts overall goalscoring threat this season.

Reading will probably be relying on the likes of Yann Kermorgant and midfielder John Swift, who have four and three goals respectively in all competitions. Whether they will get any luck against an Arsenal side who have kept six clean sheets in their last seven matches is another matter entirely though.

Reading haven’t exactly been the highest scoring side this season, as you can probably tell from the low tally of their top scorers. They have netted just five goals in their last six matches, and their 1-0 win over Rotherham on Saturday ended a four match winless streak for them.

Arsenal are obviously big favourites for this game, and the fact that they play youngsters in the competition keeps the motivation up, which some Premier League clubs lack in this competition. Considering their excellent defensive record and Reading’s relatively weak attack I think backing Arsenal to Win to Nil at 11/10 is good value, and I’m going for a 3-0 correct score prediction at 7/1 as well.