Preview: Newport County vs Reading - prediction, team news, lineups

Newport County and Reading will continue their pre-season preparations when they meet at Rodney Parade on Tuesday night.

Chris Todd, who is currently in interim charge of the Exiles, has overseen two wins, one draw and one defeat from Newport's four summer friendlies so far, while the Royals have recorded two victories either side of a narrow defeat.

Match preview

After dramatically securing their League Two status on the final day of last season, Newport County will be hoping for a more comfortable campaign this time around as they prepare for another year in the fourth tier.

The Exiles survived by beating bottom side Barrow thanks to two late goals from Tom Davies and Bobby Kamwa, a result that lifted them to 20th in the table and four points clear of relegation.

However, Newport will be determined to avoid another battle at the bottom and ensure their survival is secured much earlier this time around.

Their summer preparations have been complicated by the departure of Christian Fuchs, who left the club after guiding them to a 13th consecutive season in the Football League, leaving the Welsh outfit searching for a new permanent manager.

Despite the uncertainty, Newport have strengthened their squad with the arrivals of defenders Dan Sassi, Cameron Norman and Kyle Cameron, while Welsh forward Christian Doidge has also joined from National League side Forest Green Rovers.

As for Reading, they travel to South Wales after finishing 12th in League One last season, ending the campaign 12 points outside the playoff places.

The Royals saw their promotion hopes fade during the final weeks of the season after going six matches without a victory, ultimately ending any chance of a late push into the top six.

Looking to challenge higher up the table this time around, Leam Richardson has welcomed several new arrivals, with Jacob Brown, Udoka Godwin-Malife, Kyreece Lisbie and Josh Stokes all joining ahead of the new campaign.

Reading have made a positive start to pre-season, beating Farnborough 2-1, narrowly losing 1-0 to Getafe before responding with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Woking last time out.

Following Tuesday's clash, the Royals will conclude their preparations against Crawley and Charlton before beginning their competitive season against Bromley in the EFL Cup.

Newport County pre-season form:

W W L D

Reading pre-season form:

W L W

Team News

With this being a pre-season fixture, both managers are expected to make plenty of changes throughout the match as they continue assessing their squads.

Newport forward Shaquille Gwengwe will be one to watch after joining from Southern League Premier Division South side Poole Town, where he scored an incredible 46 goals in 46 appearances last season.

The striker also netted a hat-trick in a recent 5-0 friendly victory and could lead the line again here.

Newport County will also be without Michael Spellman after the forward turned down a contract offer from the club at the end of last season, it will be interesting to see how the Exiles look to replace his contribution.

Reading have no reported fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to Rodney Parade and could name a similar side to the one that defeated Woking at the weekend.

Bristol City loanee Stokes is expected to retain his place in midfield, while Jack Marriott could continue as the Royals' main attacking outlet.

Newport County possible starting lineup:

MacDonald; Norman, Cameron, Sassi, Davies; Bamba, Evans, Smith, Brennan; Gwengwe, Doidge

Reading possible starting lineup:

Pereira; Beacroft, O'Connor, Osho, Abrefa; Wing, Rinomhota; Lane, Stokes, Kyerewaa; Marriott

We say: Newport County 1-2 Reading

Pre-season fixtures can often be difficult to predict due to squad rotation and the number of young players and fringe options involved.

However, Reading appear to have the stronger squad on paper and we expect Richardson's side to continue their positive summer preparations with a narrow victory at Rodney Parade.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.