Reading and Huddersfield Town meet at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday afternoon looking to end a disappointing campaign on a high.
While the Royals will still want to finish in seventh position after losing out in the Championship playoff race, Huddersfield can finish in 20th spot if they claim all three points.
Match preview
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Up until the middle of March, Reading had kept themselves as favourites for the playoffs, reaching that period with three successive wins and clean sheets.
However, while just three defeats have been recorded in 10 fixtures, one win and six draws have left Veljko Paunovic to contemplate changes in the summer.
Sections of the fanbase are justified in feeling content with a solid campaign under the Serbian, but this season will go down as a missed opportunity.
Losing out 4-1 to champions Norwich City last weekend strengthened the argument that Reading are a couple of players light of a team capable of promotion.
With Omar Richards and potentially Michael Olise leaving the club in the summer, plans will have already started ahead of next season.
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As far as Huddersfield are concerned, head coach Carlos Corberan will be delighted that survival has been guaranteed with a game to spare.
With Derby County and Rotherham United failing to win their respective fixtures last weekend, a 1-1 draw at home to Coventry City proved to be enough for the Terriers.
After an injury-hit campaign, Danny Ward finally netted his first goal of the season, and Corberan will be desperate for more of his key men to remain fit if he is given a second year in charge.
Huddersfield still have just three victories since the turn of the year, meaning that the Spaniard could definitely benefit from a last-day victory at the Madejski Stadium.
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Team News
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Paunovic may hand a first start to Reading teenager Mamadi Camara with the 17-year-old making his Championship debut as a substitute last weekend.
Fringe goalkeeper Luke Southwood could also be given an opportunity, while young midfielder Dejan Tetek should keep his place in the team.
Alfa Semedo is in contention for a starting role ahead of Olise, who may drop down to the substitutes' bench with a potential exit in mind.
Corberan is expected to make a number of alterations to his side with Ward likely to replace Yaya Sanogo in attack.
Pipa, Carel Eiting and Rarmani Edmonds-Green are also in line to be recalled to the side.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Southwood; Yiadom, Moore, Holmes, Richards; Tetek, Laurent; Semedo, Swift, Camara; Joao
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Schofield; Pipa, Keogh, Sarr, Toffolo; Eiting, Hogg; Koroma, O'Brien, Rowe; Ward
We say: Reading 3-1 Huddersfield Town
After a long season, some first-team regulars could be handed the weekend off by both managers. Nevertheless, we still expect Reading to make light work of their opponents, showcasing their extra firepower in the final third.
Top tip
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 Reading win with a probability of 48.63%. A win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 26.19% and a draw had a probability of 25.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Reading win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.4%) and 2-0 (8.69%). The likeliest Huddersfield Town win was 0-1 (7.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.97%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 5.1% likelihood.
