Bolton vs Reading Predictions

Bolton saw their FA Cup hopes ended at the weekend, but can they return to league action with a victory? Reading are the visitors to the University of Bolton Stadium on Tuesday night, with these two sides involved in a fight for survival in the second tier. The pair are in the bottom three, with the Royals narrowly ahead in 22nd place. There’s just a point between the two going into this massive relegation six-pointer, but who will come away with the points in this meeting?

Bolton were beaten 2-1 at Bristol City in the FA Cup, with that defeat adding to their recent awful run of form. While they eased past League One Walsall in the Third Round, they came unstuck as soon as they met Championship opposition. They haven’t been able to measure up to their fellow second-tier teams so far, which has left them three points off safety. Can they boost their hopes of staying in the division by claiming a result in this clash?

The visitors come here looking to extend a decent run at this ground. Reading are unbeaten in their last four league games away at Bolton (W1 D3), and came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in this fixture last season. However, their chances of staying in the Championship were dealt a blow in a 1-0 loss to Bolton in the reverse fixture this term. Jose Gomes has a tough job trying to turn things around for the visitors, but he needs to take advantage of a fellow struggler in this trip.

The issue for the visitors is their poor away record. They’ve failed to win in their last 10 trips, leaving them with one of the worst away records in the Championship. They’ve won just once on their travels all season, while failure to win here will leave them with a single away league win over the course of 12 months. While they will view this as a great chance to return to winning ways, the Trotters will test the Royals.

Bolton have had six meetings with their fellow bottom six sides so far this season, and they’re yet to lose. They have struggled against everyone else, but relegation six-pointers are working out for the hosts. However, that record has seen them draw twice as many games as they’ve won, while they have failed to win 17 of their last 18 in the league. We see the hosts drawing this clash, with Reading drawing six times on the road, and in three of their four meetings with bottom five sides.