Reading vs Chelsea 28/07/19

28 July 2019

Reading and Chelsea will face-off at the Madejski Stadium for a friendly fixture that will see the two English sides playing against each other for the first time since 2013.

Reading’s pre-season campaign is well underway, with the Championship outfit already featuring in eight friendlies this summer (W4, D1, L3). Still, it will be Reading’s second high-profile game following a 2-1 defeat to the Spanish giants Sevilla, as they take on a team whom they’ve struggled to beat in eight H2H meetings in the 21st century (D3, L5). Although they’ve secured a comfortable 4-2 win over Peterborough in the build-up to this clash, the Royals have failed to impress in the previous four matches (W1, D1, L2), with all of those games featuring under 1.5 goals.

On the other hand, the Blues have had ups and downs this summer, securing two wins in four friendlies so far (W2, D1, L1). While the Pensioners’ wins over Barcelona and St. Patrick’s Athletic produced over 2.5 goals, both of their remaining two friendlies have featured under 2.5 goals. Insufficiently lethal in the final third lately, Franck Lampard’s men have netted one goal or less in five of their last ten outings, failing to find the net inside the first 45 minutes five times too. However, the London heavyweights have restricted their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match in all 11 of their last games, conceding in the first half just twice in the process.