Venue: Madejski Stadium
Date: 13/04/13
Kick-Off: 15:00
LIVERPOOL FC will hope for a return to winning ways on Saturday when they travel to the Madejski Stadium to take on bottom of the league Reading.
Stewart Downing should be available after recovering from an illness that saw him taken off after just 25 minutes last weekend during Liverpool’s disappointing 0-0 draw with West Ham. However Raheem Sterling, who scored the winning goal when the Reds beat Reading at Anfield back in October, remains sidelined with a thigh problem.
After dropping two points against West Ham, Liverpool remain in seventh place going into the weekend, five points clear of eighth-placed West Brom but three points behind local rivals Everton, who have a game in hand.
Reading meanwhile are eight points adrift in the relegation zone and having lost their last seven league fixtures, their chances of staying in the Premier League look slim. However new manager Nigel Adkins, who took charge last month after Brian McDermott was sacked, is refusing to give up.
The Royals’ main goalscoring threat is striker Adam Le Fondre, who has scored 10 league goals this season. For Liverpool, Luis Suarez is still looking for his 30th goal of the season, while Steven Gerrard remains two goals away from his 100th Premier League goal.
The Reds will be hoping for another good performance from retiring centre-back Jamie Carragher – the club’s vice-captain had the best passing accuracy of any player to play more than 50 passes in the league last weekend, with 96.4 per cent accuracy.
If Reading want to avoid a swift return to the Championship, they will have to play to win on Saturday and an open game could work to Liverpool’s advantage.
If Suarez, Gerrard and company have their shooting boots on, it should be easy for the Reds to heap more misery on Nigel Adkins’ side.
For the latest up-to date odds on the clash, you can visit HitItBet for some tasty tempters
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