Preview: Reading vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

Focus is back on the league for Reading as they prepare to host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship on Tuesday night.

The Royals were in FA Cup action over the weekend and haven't yet secured their place in a Wembley semi-final as they were held to a goalless draw by League One side Bradford City.

Steve Clarke's side will fancy themselves to advance from a replay at the Madejski Stadium, but now their attention turns back to the league.

With 11 games of their season remaining, Reading are 18th in the table and a win here would take them 13 points clear of safety and ease any worries about being dragged into a relegation scrap.

They have fallen into the bottom third of the table because of just one win in their last six league games, with no wins and just one goal in their last three matches.

Clarke could recall Chris Gunter and Garath McCleary as they dropped out against Bradford, while Alex Pearce will be assessed after suffering a broken nose at Valley Parade.

While Reading are struggling for form, Brighton are enjoying one of their best patches of the season.

The Seagulls have won three of their last four games, which is as many victories as they had in their previous 15 games.

It means that they are just a point and a place below their opponents tomorrow night and like Reading, they are trying to pull further clear of the bottom three.

They might have improved of late, but all three of those recent wins were at home, including a 2-0 triumph over high-flying Derby County in their last game.

Away from home, Chris Hughton's side haven't scored in their last four matches, picking up just two points out of a possible 12. If they fail to score at the Madejski Stadium, it will be the first time since August 2001 that they've gone more than four away games without finding the net.

Hughton has only one fresh selection issue, with Sam Baldock possibly out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, so Kazenga LuaLua could start on the left.

The recent head-to-head record is in Reading's favour, with the Royals unbeaten in nine league games against the Seagulls, winning the first six in this run before drawing the most recent three.

Reading:

Form in Championship: LLWLLD Form in all competitions: LWLLDD

Possible starting lineup: Federici; Gunter, Hector, Pearce, Obita; Chalobah, Williams, Norwood; McCleary, Robson-Kanu; Pogrebnyak

Brighton:

Recent form: DDWWLW

Possible starting lineup: Stockdale; Bruno, Greer, Dunk, Bennett; Holla, Kayal, Teixeira; Calderon, O'Grady, LuaLua

Sports Mole says: 2-1