Goals on the agenda as Palace face Reading

CLICK TO BET:  Crystal Palace (8/5),  Draw (21/10),  Reading (33/20)

Having battled against the drop in recent seasons, Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman could see his side move up to the dizzy heights of second place in the Championship with a victory over Reading this weekend as the Eagles bid to make it five wins on the bounce.

Palace head into the fixture on the back of a 2-0 home win over Southampton in the Carling Cup on Tuesday evening following goals from Darren Ambrose and Jermaine Easter, and odds of 8/5 can be had on Freedman’s men to secure all three points for the ninth time this campaign.

Reading, however, look set to provide a stern test for the London club as they aim to increase their unbeaten run of games in the league to eight and will be buoyed by the fact that they have picked up maximum points in their last two matches on the road. Brian McDermott’s side are priced at 33/20 for a win.

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This fixture certainly hasn’t been shy of goals in recent times, with the last four meetings between the two producing a minimum of three goals, as the teams battled out an entertaining 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park back in February, which followed 3-1 and 3-0 victories for the Royals.

Odds of 3/2 for the match to involve over 2.5 goals is certainly worth considering taking into account previous encounters, while both teams scoring in the game is priced at 83/100.

Considering the Eagles’ storming start to the season, you have to feel McDermott would be pleased to take a share of the spoils, and with both sides proving difficult to beat in recent weeks, the draw at 21/10 could well attract some interest.

Freedman and his players, on the other hand, will be eager to make full use of their home support at Selhurst Park, where they have been formidable this season.

And with a potential spot in the automatic promotion places up for grabs, a 2-1 victory for the hosts at 9/1 looks too good to ignore.