Mid-table Reading host league leaders West Bromwich Albion at the Madejski Stadium on Wednesday night as the Baggies look to extend their four-point lead at the top of the Championship table.
The Royals are in poor form ahead of the visit of Slaven Bilic's side, having not won any of their last six league games, and will not relish another tricky encounter.
Match preview
© Reuters
Mark Bowen's Reading are comfortably mid-table at present and do not look like troubling either end of the division. They are 10 points clear of the relegation zone but 11 off the playoffs, and they appear set for a solid, if unspectacular, campaign.
The Royals' form has been patchy so far this season, and their current six-game winless run was preceded by a string of four consecutive victories in which they conceded just once.
However, those wins have given way to draws, with Bowen's side recording four 1-1 stalemates in their last six league outings, losing the other two.
Reading held West Brom to the same 1-1 scoreline at The Hawthorns when the two sides met earlier this season, and the Royals would likely be content with a repeat of that result.
West Brom, however, have recorded back-to-back 2-0 victories after a seven-game winless run and will want to pick up all three points once more to boost their title challenge.
The Baggies' away win over Millwall at the Den, coupled with Leeds United's 2-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest, have seen West Brom go four points clear at the top of the Championship.
Bilic's side also remain the highest scorers in the division with an impressive 55 strikes in 31 games, three more than nearest challengers Brentford.
Despite their earlier blip in form, they have also lost the fewest games of any side in the Championship with just four defeats - Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest are joint-second with seven.
Reading Championship form: DLDLDD
Reading form (all competitions): DDLDWD
West Bromwich Albion Championship form: DDLLWW
West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions): DLWLWW
Team News
© Reuters
Reading manager Bowen has a lengthy injury list to deal with ahead of the league leaders' visit on Wednesday.
Chris Gunter, Lucas Boye, Tom McIntyre, Matt Miazga and Lucas Joao are all sidelined, most for at least another month.
Andy Yiadom, however, is being assessed and is closing in on a return.
West Brom boss Bilic does not have the same problems in his squad, with an almost entirely fit unit to choose from.
Grady Diangana is still out, but Kieran Gibbs is back in training and continues to be assessed.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Cabral; Moore, Morrison, Blackett; Araruna, Swift, Pele, Ejaria, Obita; Meite, Baldock
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; O'Shea, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend; Livermore, Sawyers; Pereira, Krovinovic, Robinson; Robson-Kanu
We say: Reading 1-2 West Bromwich Albion
Reading are in something of a rut and a resurgent West Brom - boasting the best away form in the league - should pick up a third consecutive victory to further boost their chances of automatic promotion.
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 win with a probability of 48.22%. A win for had a probability of 26.54% and a draw had a probability of 25.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a win was 0-1 with a probability of 11%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.38%) and 0-2 (8.6%). The likeliest win was 1-0 (7.69%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12%).
