Championship relegation odds put Huddersfield Town hopes on knife-edge after Reading deduction
Betting exchanges are backing the Terriers to narrowly avoid relegation after a return to form for Neil Warnock’s side and news of Reading’s points deduction – but the fight for survival is still considered too close to comfort.
Many bookmakers were not accepting odds on the Championship relegation battle pending the outcome of the disciplinary action being taken against Reading for breaches of the EFL’s disciplinary rules, with the Royals accepting an immediate six-point penalty on Tuesday afternoon.
That is a welcome boost to Huddersfield Town’s survival hopes, especially after back-to-back victories over Millwall and Middlesbrough put them level on points with Cardiff City and safety from the drop with another four sides now within touching distance.
That means that Reading are now narrowly tipped by Betfair’s betting exchange to go down alongside odds-on favourites Blackpool and Wigan Athletic, who themselves had a three-point deduction imposed last month after failing to pay their players on time.
There is only the narrowest margin separating Reading’s relegation odds from Town’s, however, suggesting the race could go down to the final-day showdown between the two sides at the John Smith's Stadium.
Surprisingly, West Bromwich Albion are also named in the mix, with punters perhaps gambling that the debt-laden club may suffer financial peril that could see them sanctioned by the EFL. Cardiff are meanwhile largely unfancied for the drop despite being out of the bottom three on goal difference alone, albeit with a game in hand over third-from-bottom Town.
- Wigan: 1/6 (1.16)
- Blackpool: 1/4 (1.25)
- Reading: 20/21 (1.95)
- Huddersfield Town: Evens (2.00)
- West Brom: 10/9 (2.11)
- Rotherham: 17/10 (2.70)
- QPR: 19/10 (2.90)
- Cardiff: 5/2 (3.50)
