Watford vs Reading Odds & Prediction – EFL Championship Round 41

• Second-placed Watford meets sixth-placed neighbors Reading at 2:45 pm ET on Friday
• Six wins and one draw in last seven games for Watford while Reading have won once in five
• See the odds and best bets for Watford vs Reading in the EFL Championship Round 41

Watford meets near-neighbors Reading in England’s EFL Championship on Friday with both teams aiming to boost their hopes of promotion. The price for a Reading win is +360 with the draw at +260. Watford vs Reading kicks off at 2:45 pm ET.

With six wins and one draw in the last seven games, Watford is favored for a home win by the oddsmakers at DraftKings at -122.

EFL Watford vs Reading Odds

Odds as of April 8

In second place, Watford is in impressive form and looks well set for an automatic elevation into the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Reading is in the playoff qualification zone.

Firstly, the draw has attractions at that price with so much at stake for both teams. But the better prospect is the spread offer of +210 for Watford to win by at least two goals (Asian Handicap -1.25).

Certainly, with six games to go, it will take a major calamity for Watford to fail to claim the automatic second promotion place – with Norwich City the runaway leaders.

Watford Hope for Quick EPL Return

Watford is nine points ahead of third-placed Brentford with a tally of 79 and looks set for an instant return to the top flight after relegation last season.

They were held 1-1 at Middlesbrough last weekend – a result which brought to an end a run of six straight victories.

Reading face a tight battle for a playoff spot just one point ahead of seventh-placed Bournemouth.

However, Reading’s 3-1 win against Derby County on the same day brought a welcome end to a run of four games without a win.

They currently face a tight battle for a playoff spot. With a tally of 66 points, they are just one ahead of seventh-placed Bournemouth. Nevertheless, they have not been outside of the top six all season.

Watford vs Reading EFL Stats

There is a minor rivalry between these teams with Watford based north of London in the county of Hertfordshire and Reading in nearby Berkshire to the west of the capital.

Defensive strength has been the key factor during Watford’s recent seven-match unbeaten spell.

They have conceded just three times during that spell while hitting the net themselves 14 times.

It required a late equalizer by Middlesbrough’s Yannick Bolasie in the 78th minute to deny Watford a seventh straight win last Monday. Ismaila Sarr had put Watford in front after 32 minutes.

Ten Goals for Ismaila Sarr

Sarr is the team’s leading scorer this season with ten to his credit in all competitions followed by Joao Pedro who has a tally of nine.

Further, Watford has the best home record in the division with 16 wins at their Vicarage Road HQ, two draws and two defeats.

Hoping to be the first team to get the better of Watford twice this year, following our 1-0 victory over them back in October! 🤞

Match fact delivered by @HDS_Online 👍 #WATREA pic.twitter.com/sUt1ihZyT8

— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) April 8, 2021

Above all, they have won their last six home games while keeping five clean sheets during that run. And it has been seven years since Reading won at Watford.

Watford’s Spanish coach Xisco Munoz has suffered only three defeats in 20 league games.

On the road, Reading has the seventh-best statistics with seven wins, eight draws and five defeats.

Watford’s Spanish coach Xisco Munoz was appointed in December last year and has suffered only three defeats in the 20 league games since then – securing 14 wins and three draws.

After some early teething troubles, he switched the team to a 4-3-3 formation which worked well and was particularly suited to the midfield skills of Will Hughes.

🥇 @28xisco28 – Manager of the Month
🥇 Francisco Sierralta – Player of the Month

There's a double nomination for the Golden Boys in March's @SkyBetChamp awards.

— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) April 8, 2021

Xisco is also credited with giving renewed confidence to Senegalese goal-scorer Sarr who has become a target for Liverpool.

Reading’s leading scorer is the Portuguese forward Lucas Joao who was dropped to the bench for last Monday’s win against Derby.

However, he came on to score his team’s third goal in the 84th minute – taking his total to the season to 22 in all competitions.

#WatfordFC host #ReadingFC this Friday!

We've compared the stats of Ismaïla Sarr and Ovie Ejaria ahead of the game.👇 https://t.co/Yq39YKhcyZ pic.twitter.com/d2uSBNnPJ5

— Watford StatZone (@watfordsz) April 6, 2021

It was his first strike in five games and the boost to his confidence means he is highly likely to be back in the starting line-up on Friday.

Those three points were welcome after three draws and one defeat in the previous four matches.

However, Reading’s form has not been too worrying with only one defeat in the last eight league games.

There was a 1-0 home win for Reading against Watford last October.

Love this from Lucas Joao 👏 Great to see him back on the scoresheet again yesterday for #readingfc ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/AXZjob8q2U

— Jonathan Low (@jonathanl50) April 6, 2021

But the last time they visited Watford in 2015, the home side were 4-1 winners.

It seems, in conclusion, that Watford will have too much for their visitors this time with a two-goal win highly feasible.

Pick: Watford – Asian Handicap -1.25 (+210)

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