Preview: Reading vs Mansfield Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Desperate to separate themselves from the relegation candidates in League One, struggling Reading will welcome Mansfield Town to the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Saturday.

The Royals will be looking for just their third win of the season, while the Stags are aiming to push towards the playoff spots this weekend.

Match preview

Noel Hunt's Reading missed out on making the playoffs in 2024-25 when they finished seventh, and while they had hoped to kick on this season, they have started surprisingly poorly.

The Royals lost their first three League One games this term before drawing the following two, and they come into this weekend having won just twice across their nine third-tier showings to date.

Most recently in the division, Hunt's side came from behind to earn a point on the road against Stockport County last Saturday thanks to a second-half strike from Jack Marriott.

That stalemate has Reading 19th in the table, and their tally of nine points is exactly half that of sixth-placed AFC Wimbledon, while also putting them just one point above Rotherham United, Blackpool and Burton Albion in the relegation zone.

Hoping to pick up a rare victory, the hosts will rightly take confidence from their excellent form on their own turf that features four wins on the bounce ahead of this clash, and seizing all three points could lift them up to 14th if they can pull off the three-goal-difference swing needed to overtake Wigan Athletic.

Meanwhile, Nigel Clough's Mansfield survived in the third tier last season following their promotion from League Two, and after making a respectable beginning to 2025-26, they will have their sights set on a shot at Championship football.

That being said, while the Stags put together a four-match winning run back in August, they went six games without victory prior to last weekend, losing four and drawing two in that stretch.

This past Saturday, Clough's men beat Rotherham 2-1 at One Call Stadium, responding to the Millers' seventh-minute penalty with an equaliser from Tyler Roberts just beyond the hour mark and a 90th-minute winner from Dom Dwyer.

A hard-fought three points brought Mansfield up to 12th in League One and kept them only four points behind Wimbledon in the playoff spots.

However, if the visitors are to narrow the gap by securing back-to-back wins, then they will need to defy their disappointing travelling record given that they have failed to triumph in any of their last four away games, losing three times and drawing once since a 2-1 victory over Exeter City on August 16.

Reading League One form:

Reading form (all competitions):

Mansfield Town League One form:

Mansfield Town form (all competitions):

Team News

Reading will be without a number of defenders this weekend, including centre-back Derrick Williams as he works his way back from a hamstring injury, while right-back Andy Yiadom continues his recovery from a knee injury, and both 17-year-old left-back Andre Garcia and centre-half Paudie O'Connor are doubts.

If all are unavailable, then Finley Burns and Jeriel Dorsett could continue at the heart of the backline, with Ashqar Ahmed and Matty Jacob at full-back.

In the centre of the park, the Royals are also uncertain about midfielder Tivonge Rushesha's fitness, and Lewis Wing should captain the team alongside Kami Doyle and Charlie Savage on Saturday.

As for Mansfield, they are missing players in each third of the pitch, with right-winger Luke Bolton and centre-back Baily Cargill, who was taken off with an injury against Wycombe Wanderers on September 6, out of this clash.

In their absence, Deji Oshilaja and Frazer Blake-Tracy will be ready to start in defence, while Nathan Moriah-Welsh and Rhys Oates line up out wide in support of striker Will Evans.

Elsewhere, midfielders Regan Hendry and Louis Reed are doubts, though Jamie McDonnell and Aaron Lewis are likely to start in a double pivot, with Tyler Roberts just ahead of the duo.

Reading possible starting lineup:

Pereira; Ahmed, Burns, Dorsett, Jacob; Doyle, Wing, Savage; Lane, Marriott, Kyerewaa

Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:

Roberts; Knoyle, Oshilaja, Blake-Tracy, McLaughlin; McDonnell, Lewis; Moriah-Welsh, Roberts, Oates; Evans

We say: Reading 2-1 Mansfield Town

Reading may be in lacklustre form overall, but their recent home record is impressive, and they could earn a fifth straight win on their own turf this weekend.

In contrast, Mansfield have lost three of their last four away matches, and they are likely to find it difficult at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

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