Since the last bookie watch on December 7th Reading have enjoyed a great run of form, curtailed only by a defeat at Cardiff and a disappointing cup exit to Stevenage. There's no point in doing the cup odds now but how have our promotion chances changed in the eyes of the bookies. Click below the jump to find out.
All odds are the best price available via oddschecker on January 9, 2012.
To Be Promoted
JAN 9 DEC 7 NOV 5 SEPT 27
West Ham 2/5 2/5 8/11 8/13
Southampton 4/5 1/2 8/13 6/4
Cardiff 13/8 11/4 11/2 6/1
Middlesbrough 7/4 7/2 10/3 13/5
Reading 11/2 14/1 14/1 12/1
Leicester 13/2 7/2 3/1 2/1
Birmingham 7/1 6/1 9/2 11/1
Hull 7/1 10/1 6/1 8/1
Leeds 8/1 9/2 7/1 8/1
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Odds Shortening Odds LengtheningSource: Oddschecker 9/1/12
Reading's four wins since our last BW have seen our odds tumble, falling by nearly two thirds in just over a month. On the 7th of December you could have got 14/1 on us being in the Premier League next year, but now the best price available is just 11/2. So instead of a return of £140 for a cheeky tenner on promotion, today you'd be banking just £55. In fact some bookies such as Coral and SkyBet have us as short at 9/2 to go up... at least somebody's confident in our prospects. On the punter-to-punter exchanges we're closer to 5/1, currently 49/10 as I type this.
Our odds to win the league have also tumbled massively thanks to a combination of the leaders' struggles and our own good form. We're now a best price of just 28/1 to win the Championship, down from 150/1 just a month ago.
The favourites for promotion are still West Ham, who's odds of going up still remain at 5/2 ON, though Southampton's odds have gone out slightly to 4/5. Cardiff are third favourites just ahead of Middlesbrough with Reading now fifth overall, ahead of Leicester, Birmingham, Hull and Leeds.
To be Relegated JAN 9 DEC 7 NOV 5 27 Sept
Coventry 2/7 2/7 11/13 11/8
Doncaster 1/2 1/2 8/15 4/7
Portsmouth 7/4 6/4 7/1 7/1
Bristol City 3/1 11/4 EVS 5/2
Nottingham F 7/2 8/1 18/1 12/1
Watford 4/1 11/4 5/2 3/1------------
Reading 33/1 25/1 25/1 20/1Source: Oddschecker 9/1/12
Our relegation chances are now more distant than our odds to win the league, but if you fancy a punt you can now get 33/1 on us playing League 1 football next season.
Coventry remain the favourites to go down at 7/2 ON while Doncaster are also odds on to join them in League One next season. Pompy and Bristol City have seen their odds drift out very slightly while Nottingham Forest have seen their odds go from 18/1 to 7/2 in the space of just two months.
In the top goalscorer stakes Southampton's Rickie Lambert is a 11/8 favourite to win the golden boot with his nearest challenger Billy Sharp at 11/1. The third favourite is Ross McCormack way out at 18/1 as the bookies all but declare Lambert the winner. If you fancy a longshot and somebody to go on a Shane Long-esque tear for Reading, Simon Church is at 66/1 with Adam Le Fondre at 80/1.
Oh and if you fancy Stevenage to go all the way after beating us in the FA Cup, you're welcome to odds of 1000/1.....