READING PREVIEW: TEAM AND ODDS

Will Stevie be smiling again?

Rafa may possibly be able to name another unchanged side after Alonso was rated 'fit' to play this morning.

It is unsure whether Rafa will risk the player for the whole game, and Luis Garcia is still a doubt.

Bellamy is still not fully fit, so Kuyt and Crouch are set to continue their partnership with Fowler on the bench.

Betting

The reds are favourites at 1/3, with Reading rank outsiders at 8/1. Surprisingly high odds for the opponents who have proven fairly difficult to beat and who ran the reds close a couple of weeks back with a bit of a second string side themselves.

If you think the reds will win by more than one goal you can get evens from the bookmakers.

Fancy a repeat of the Carling Cup scoreline? 4-3. That score is at a frankly outrageous 250/1! Surely worth a pound of anyone's money, especially thinking back to those Newcastle games.

Some other good bets - Kuyt for the hat-trick? 20/1.

Our Bet: We're feeling lucky. £1 on Kuyt first scorer and the reds 3-1 (33/1) and £1 on Kuyt first scorer and 2-0 (14/1). Any of our winnings, as per usual, will go towards the Michael Shields fund.

Remember - You can sign up for a free £10 bet with Paddy Power, and if you join via our site we will donate any commission to the Free Michael Shields fund. See our sign-up page for more details.

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