Birmingham vs. Reading Betting Tips: Back Hogan to score first for the sixth time this season

After last weekend’s fixtures, The Championship is back in full swing, and on Friday night Birmingham take on Reading live on Sky Sports. Here at BettingOdds.com we’ve previewed the action and provided you with our best bets for the occasion.

It’s now three games without a win for Birmingham who could only manage a goalless draw away at Blackpool in their first game back after the World Cup break. The Blues currently sit 14th in the table after 22 matches and are just three points behind Friday’s opponents Reading in the standings.

The Royals enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign and after their 1-0 victory over Coventry last week, they now sit eight in the table with 32 points, an impressive return for a side who many punters tipped for relegation pre-season.

• Latest Championship Winner Odds

The last four meetings between these two sides have all ended with a 2-1 scoreline, with Reading doing the double over Birmingham in the two Championship clashes in 2021/2022. Taking a look at the match odds for this encounter and the hosts are the 21/20 favourites to claim all three points. The draw is being offered at 21/20 with most firms, while an away win for Reading can be backed at 11/4 with bet365.

The first selection we are siding with on Friday evening is for Birmingham’s Scott Hogan to be the first goalscorer in the game. At the time of writing bet365 are best priced at 11/2, with other firms such as BetVictor, Coral and William Hill taking a more conservative approach at 7/2.

• Latest Championship Top Scorer Odds

Scott Hogan is Birmingham’s top scorer this season with 9 and also is the joint top-scorer in the division along with nine other players, including Ben Brereton Diaz, Chuba Akpo and IIiman Ndiaye.

What’s interesting is that five of Hogan’s nine goals this season have been the first of the match, and with over 2.5 goals landing in the last six meetings between these two sides, goals could be on the menu on Friday.

Next up we’ve focused our attention on the anytime scorer market where we feel Tom Ince looks a little overpriced at 7/1 to find the net. Ince has increased his attacking output this season and ranks top for shots taken for the Royals with 1.8 per game.

The 30-year-old has now managed four goals and three assists this term. Three of his goals have come in away matches in just 10 starts. In their last two home matches Birmingham have conceded four goals and with both teams scoring in the last six meetings, there’s reason to believe Reading can get on the scoresheet here. 

Again, bet365 are top priced here on Tom Ince finding the net with 7/1 feeling a little too big for a player who has arguably been Reading’s biggest attacking threat this campaign.