Reading V. Villa - Football (Soccer) News And Picks

Reading V. Villa
By Anthony Marinetti
Posted:11:00 am PDT 2007-02-05

Reading weathered the storm in December and have worked their way back into contention for a spot in UEFA competition.

Reading had a dismal run through December, winning only one match while losing four and drawing two. The EPL newcomers' appeared to be plummeting back to earth after a wonderful start to the campaign.

However, the Royals recovered to pull a 180 in January, going undefeated by winning five and drawing one in all competitions. On the heels of another victory against Manchester City, Reading has now won six of seven. Their confidence is back, and just in time to make another run at finishing in the top five.

But Reading manager Steve Coppell remains cautiously optimistic.

"We're not worried about artificial points targets. We've just got to strive to finish as high as we can," Coppell said. "We are what we are, we're very much a team with the L plates on in this division."

Coppell does believe his players' inexperience in top-flight competition is advantageous.

"Sometimes when you don't know what you're up against, you're not frightened and that's good for us."

Indeed the Royals never seem to be fazed or intimidated on the pitch. The squad will need to maintain that fearlessness in their Saturday match with Aston Villa. While Villa are by no means a powerhouse this season, they match up very well with Reading and may disrupt the Royals' recent success.

Villa defeated the Royals 2-1 way back in August, and while much has changed since then, they can yet give Reading a lot of trouble.

Aston Villa also had a dreadful December, going winless. In fact Villa have only won two of their last fifteen matches in all competitions. Those two wins have, however, come within their past three. Furthermore, they have made a number of important signings in January, such as Ashley Young from Watford, positioning themselves to be a spoiler for top-tier squads in weeks to come.

Thus Saturday's fixture between Reading and Villa is more intriguing than most may think. WagerWeb.com offers Reading at even to win and Villa at +225. Young and Juan Pablo Angel can give the Royals defense a good deal of trouble if the two are paired together up top at some point. Despite Reading's winning form recently, it has given up 8 goals in five games.

Look for Villa to come out of this one with at least a point, and don't be surprised if they pull the upset win away, perhaps foreshadowing resurgence for the side.

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