Preview: Reading vs. Swansea City - prediction, team news, lineups

Championship rivals Reading and Swansea City face off at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday evening for a place in round two of the EFL Cup.

Both sides are aiming to bounce back from defeat in their opening league games of the campaign, with Reading losing to Stoke City and Swansea going down 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers.

Match preview

© Reuters

The EFL Cup may not rank too highly on Reading and Swansea's list of priorities for 2021-22, but this midweek contest has now taken on a little more importance for both teams.

Reading twice hit back at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday to claim what looked like being a decent point away from home, only for Sam Surridge to strike an 85th-minute winner.

Royals boss Veljko Paunovic accepted that it was "a point dropped" for his side and a response is now required in this first of three successive home matches.

Swansea were the victims of their own downfall in their loss at Ewood Park, meanwhile, as Steven Benda gave away a needless penalty that Ben Brereton made no mistake in converting.

That came after Sam Gallagher had given Rovers the opener against the run of play, with Jamie Paterson's debut goal for Swansea proving to be nothing more than a consolation.

© Reuters

After losing his first game in charge, Russell Martin admitted that it will take time for his side to fully adapt to his way of playing.

This midweek tie against fellow second-tier opposition provides Martin with a good chance to get off the mark, and Swansea have a great record in this fixture in recent times.

The Welsh side are unbeaten in 15 games against Reading in all competitions since January 2019, including three victories in their last four trips to the Madejski Stadium.

However, City have lost their last three EFL Cup matches against sides from the same division as themselves, albeit against Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Team News

© Reuters

Reading only named five substitutes against Blackburn, meaning that Paunovic will perhaps not be able to rotate his side as much as he would have liked for this match.

Those five back-up players from the Blackburn defeat may well come into the starting lineup on Tuesday, while one or two academy graduates may also get some minutes.

George Puscas could be brought back into the XI, possibly alongside Marc McNulty, who continues to be linked with a move away from the club.

As for Swansea, they lost midfielder Korey Smith to injury on the opening weekend of the campaign, so Yan Dhanda should slot into the side here.

Paterson scored on his debut but missed some presentable opportunities to rescue City a point and is likely to start this one on the bench.

Ben Hamer recently tested positive for coronavirus, which could see young keeper Nico Defreitas-Hansen start in goal.

Reading possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Holmes, Moore, Dorsett, Bristow; Azeez, Tetek, Rinomhota, Camara; McNulty, Puscas

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Defreitas-Hansen; Latibeaudiere, Bennett, Cabango; Naughton, Grimes, Dhanda, Cooper, McFayden; Whittaker, Joseph

We say: Reading 1-1 Swansea City (Reading through on penalties)

A tight game can be expected in Berkshire on Tuesday as Reading and Swansea look to bounce back from opening-game losses in the Championship.

Swansea showed promising signs in their first game under Martin but ultimately fell to defeat, while Reading came unstuck late on in a thrilling game with Stoke.

The Royals have a great record at this stage of the EFL Cup, progressing from 13 of their last 14 first-round ties, and we can see them edging this one on penalties.