Reading will travel to the MKM Stadium to face Hull City on Saturday afternoon requiring just one Championship victory to confirm their Championship survival.
The Tigers, meanwhile, are already mathematically safe but they will be looking to claim back-to-back home victories after beating Cardiff City 2-1 on Good Friday.
Match preview
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Hull City were unable to claim three successive league victories as they were beaten 2-1 away against playoff-chasing Millwall on Easter Monday.
After Scott Malone and Tom Bradshaw had put the hosts two goals in front, Tom Eaves pulled one back for the Tigers in the 87th minute, but they could not find an equaliser in the dying embers and were eventually condemned to their 22nd league defeat of the campaign.
Shota Arveladze's side are only playing for pride in their final three Championship fixtures as they are sitting 19th in the table, 13 points clear of the relegation zone and the same number of points adrift of the top half.
Even though Hull have the worst home record in the Championship, having accumulated just 21 points from as many matches, the Tigers will be confident of success on Saturday as they have lost only one of their last 13 league games against Reading, a 3-0 away defeat in September 2018.
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Reading have all but secured their Championship status for next season after claiming a dramatic point in an eight-goal thriller at home against Swansea City on Easter Monday.
The Royals were trailing 4-1 heading into the final half hour, but goals from Lucas Joao – his second of the game after netting a third-minute opener – Tom Ince and a 95th-minute equaliser from Tom McIntyre helped the hosts rescue a point.
That draw proved to be a significant result at the bottom of the table as it confirmed Derby County's relegation to League One, while Barnsley and Peterborough United seemingly need a miracle to survive, with the latter in 22nd place sitting seven points behind Reading with only three games remaining.
Paul Ince's side have now conceded 48 Championship goals in 2022, more than any other side in the division and they head to the MKM Stadium after conceding in 13 of their last 15 meetings against Hull.
Victory on Saturday, however, would confirm their survival in the second tier and would end a seven-game winless run against the Tigers, dating back to March 1994.
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Team News
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Hull are hopeful that Randell Williams will recover from his knee injury before the season comes to a close, though Saturday's game will come too soon for the winger.
Defender Josh Emmanuel remains sidelined with a leg injury, while forward Mallik Wilks is doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Lewie Coyle could return to the starting lineup at the expense of Ryan Longman, while Eaves will be hoping to force his way into the first XI ahead of Allahyar Sayyadmanesh.
As for Reading, Paul Ince is hoping to have both Ovie Ejaria and Tom Holmes available this weekend, after the duo missed out against Swansea due to injury and illness respectively.
The Royals will be without Andy Rinomhota and Scott Dann for the rest of the season, though there is a chance that John Swift could return to action for their final game of the season away at Luton Town.
Joao, who has scored eight goals in his last 12 league appearances, is set to lead the line once again, while Yakou Meite will be hoping to start on one of the flanks ahead of either Tom Ince or Junior Hoilett.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Jones, McLoughlin, Greaves; Coyle, Slater, Smallwood, Elder; Honeyman, Lewis-Potter; Sayyadmanesh
Reading possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Yiadom, Morrison, McIntyre, Rahman; Ince, Dele-Bashiru, Drinkwater, Meite; Ejaria; Joao
We say: Hull City 2-2 Reading
A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched sides could be on the cards this weekend, and with both teams having looked defensively vulnerable throughout this season, goals are to be expected at the MKM Stadium.
Reading will be seeking victory as they bid to confirm their Championship status, but we feel that the spoils will be shared on this occasion.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hull City win with a probability of 43.32%. A win for Reading had a probability of 29.22% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hull City win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.39%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.61%) and 2-0 (8.26%). The likeliest Reading win was 0-1 (9.69%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.91%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 3.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Hull City would win this match.
