Reading v Southampton Tip

With Reading having lost eight consecutive matches in all competitions, it’s very tempting just to back Southampton to make it nine on the spin at best odds of 13/10 with PaddyPower. However, those odds are perhaps a little flimsy for a team who haven’t won on their travels since 12 January and only twice in the league all season.

Instead, at a longer price (7/4 Coral), I would favour Rickie Lambert to score once again, something that seems an even more likely occurrence at the moment. The so-called ‘journeyman’ striker has enjoyed a fine first campaign in the top flight having found the net 14 times in 31 outings. Having scored at a rate of virtually one in two, odds of nearly 2/1 against the worst team in the division look generous.

Lambert scored in both of the Saints’ last two fixtures, helping to achieve famous victories at home to Liverpool and Chelsea. But interestingly, the 31-year-old grabbed his six most recent Premier League goals prior to that away from St Mary’s Stadium. He could be all set to compound Reading’s misery on Saturday afternoon.