Will Reading get their season back on track at Doncaster?

Off-form promotion hopefuls travel to the league’s form team

Besides having a chairman who named their stadium after himself and not showing enough love to the FA Cup, there’s plenty to like about Reading. They have Steve Coppell as their manager, try to play good football and have consistently got up the nose of grudge-bearing sports journalist Oliver Holt.

However, their prospects of an immediate return to the Premier League have dwindled recently courtesy of a horror run of one win in eight league games. As a result they are now seven points behind second-placed Birmingham, albeit with two games in hand. Tonight they travel to Doncaster, who have been the best team in the Championship from Christmas onwards.

Posted: March 17th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

The form side of the Football League continue their run

Five stats about last night’s Football League action

1. While Wolves, Leicester and Wycombe, the teams who led the three divisions at Christmas, have all endured blips since, the team with the best form in the Football League were bottom of the Championship on December 25. Doncaster won just four of their first 24 games in the division but since Yuletide have won seven and drawn one of their eight league games. That run has seen them climb to 15th, where they are eight points clear of the relegation zone.

2. Of course Leicester’s blip has been very minor, with the Foxes still sixteen points clear of Peterborough in third despite three successive draws. Nigel Pearson’s side endured a trio of ties earlier this season before losing away to Brighton which bodes well for in-form Bristol Rovers, who the league leaders visit on Saturday.

Posted: February 18th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Previews of tonight’s other FA Cup fourth round replays

Three more games that have conquered the snow will take place

While the Merseyside derby is the big game of the day, there are three other important FA Cup replays taking place. Martin O’Neill looks to avoid more FA Cup disappointment as they host Doncaster, Blackburn face Sunderland for the fifth time in under three months and Billy Davies and Nigel Clough face their former clubs once more:

Aston Villa v Doncaster
Doncaster are unbeaten in four straight away games, winning three, having previously gone twelve matches without a win on the road. In contrast, Villa have won just five of their last sixteen home games and were eliminated from the Carling Cup at home to Championship strugglers QPR. Martin O’Neill’s side have only been past the fourth round once in eight years so they will be wary of an upset.

Blackburn v Sunderland

Posted: February 4th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Stats for all of tonight’s FA Cup games (Part One)

Info on games at Birmingham, Burnley, Cheltenham and Crewe

chickendinner have already told you why we think that Bristol City will eliminate Portsmouth but here are a few stats to help you bet on the other eight games taking place tonight:

Birmingham v Wolves
For the first time this season Wolves are on a run of three games without a win. The league leaders last beat Birmingham in 2001 and five of their last six encounters have finished level, which could mean a replay that would be unwelcome for both teams could be on the cards.

Burnley v QPR (replay)
The home side are winless in their last five games but have won seven of their last eleven meetings with QPR, while two have been drawn. However, the billionaires were 2-0 winners at Turf Moor last season and are unbeaten in six, although the fact that five of those have been draws suggests that penalties is a possibility.

Cheltenham v Doncaster

Posted: January 13th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment