Two sides only separated by goal difference in the middle of the Championship table will square off at the weekend, as Queens Park Rangers make the trip to take on Reading.
Having both failed to win either of their last two matches in England's second tier, the teams both sit on 36 points in 13th and 12th spots respectively, while the hosts fared better than their opponents in the FA Cup over the weekend.
Match preview
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Reading head into the weekend hoping to climb back into the top half of the Championship, having displayed inconsistent form in recent months and since their return from the World Cup break.
After sitting on 29 points from 21 games going into the month-long layoff, the Royals would win two of their first three games back in England's second tier, beating Coventry City and Swansea City 1-0 and 2-1 respectively, either side of a 3-2 defeat away at Birmingham City.
Hoping to continue their improved run of results, Paul Ince's side then travelled to take on Norwich City and left with a commendable point, as Andy Carroll converted a penalty in the final 10 minutes at Carrow Road to see the game end at a goal apiece, but they were unable to produce an equaliser in their latest Championship game and first of the new year, as a trip to West Bromwich Albion resulted in a 1-0 defeat following Daryl Dike's goal on the hour mark.
The Royals come into the weekend on the back of an FA Cup meeting with Watford last Saturday, and they booked a fourth-round trip to Manchester United with a 2-0 triumph, as Kelvin Abrefa and Shane Long got on the scoresheet to fire their side through.
Now hoping to take confidence from that result and put a more consistent run together in the Championship, Ince's men will aim for a victory which would see them leapfrog their opponents and return to the top half on Saturday.
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They welcome a Queens Park Rangers side who have also dropped down to the middle of the Championship table and will be fighting to return to the playoff picture with a positive result.
Following Michael Beale's departure during the World Cup break, QPR returned to action in mid-December with Neil Critchley newly at the helm, but they are yet to return to the form that they displayed in the early stages of the campaign, despite picking up a 1-0 victory away at Preston North End in his first game on the sideline.
That was followed by a goalless stalemate against Cardiff City and a 3-0 defeat at home to Luton Town, before they looked set to pick up a 1-0 victory over second-placed Sheffield United in their last Championship outing, only to be forced to share the spoils as they were pegged back by 96th-minute equaliser from John Egan.
Such a dip in form has seen QPR quickly drop out of the playoff places and down to 12th spot in the second tier, and their struggles continued at the weekend, as the Hoops were beaten 2-1 away at third-tier Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup third round, with Sam Field's 37th-minute opener immediately cancelled out by an Aristote Nsiala leveller, before Promise Omochere netted the decisive goal 20 minutes from time to dump Critchley's men out of the competition.
Now with all their focus back on their league pursuits, QPR will be desperate to return to winning ways at the weekend to avoid dropping further down the division, with the chance to move back within touching distance of the top six given how tight the middle of the division is at the halfway stage of the season.
Team News
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Reading's attack will be led by Andy Carroll, who recently penned a new deal with the Royals ahead of the expiry of his current short-term contract, with Shane Long and Lucas Joao fighting to join him up front.
Tom McIntyre and Tom Holmes could both return to the back line from the outset, although Naby Sarr and Scott Dann also strengthened their claims to start with the clean sheet against Watford last weekend.
Kelvin Abrefa will hope to keep his place on the right flank after impressing in his second start of the season and opening the scoring in that contest, although he faces competition from Junior Hoilett, while Mamadou Loum and Jeff Hendrick are bound to retake their places in the engine room after dropping out for the cup clash, with Tom Ince also likely to return and offer further threat going forward.
Queens Park Rangers are set to remain without centre-backs Jake Clarke-Salter and Leon Balogun and experienced midfielder Stefan Johansen due to injury issues, meaning Jimmy Dunne and Rob Dickie will again partner up in the middle of the back four, with Sam Field and Tim Iroegbunam set to operate in the engine room.
Jamal Lowe arrived on loan from Bournemouth on Wednesday, and he will contest with Lyndon Dykes to lead the line in Critchley's 4-2-3-1 setup.
Whichever striker is deployed will have plenty of support from the likes of Chris Willock and Ilias Chair, with the creative pair having contributed combined tallies of 10 goals and eight assists in the Championship so far this season.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Yiadom, Dann, McIntyre; Abrefa, Hendrick, Loum, Guinness-Walker; Ince; Carroll, Joao
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Kakay, Dickie, Dunne, Paal; Iroegbunam, Field; Adomah, Chair, Willock; Dykes
We say: Reading 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
The two sides have experienced similar seasons thus far and will both be desperate for three important points to move closer to the playoff places, but we cannot quite pick a winner and see a share of the spoils as the most likely outcome.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
