Reading vs Nottingham Forest: Match Preview

After that woeful performance against Middlesbrough, Reading find themselves in a Halloween nightmare of four defeats in five. Both the team and manager are facing scrutiny but hopefully they’ll get a treat of three points against Nottingham Forest tonight.

Forgive me in advance for any accidental Halloween puns!

Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

Reading

Form (all competitions): LLWLL

Yann Kermorgant finally made his return to the squad for a brief cameo when Reading were 2-0 down. The Frenchman is still not 100% fit so expect Sam Smith to build on his promising performance last game. The big concern is the fitness of both Tiago Ilori and Liam Moore who clashed heads during the game.

Ilori was sent to hospital with concussion but was promptly discharged, while Moore played with a bandage but will likely be re-assessed if he is fit to play the whole game. The injury list seems to be growing every game so it will be interesting to see who Jaap Stam picks in this what is being billed as a make-or-break game.

Top scorer: Liam Kelly, 4 (all competitions)

Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

Nottingham Forest

Form (all competitions): LWLWW

Forest are, in contrast to Reading, sitting nicely in mid-table on a good run of form. They enjoyed a dramatic win over Hull this weekend with Kieran Dowell scoring a hat-trick.

However, the game was marred by Hull City fans pelting tennis balls onto the pitch in protest against their Allam family owners. On the injury front, Daryl Murphy and Armand Traore are both being assessed after hamstring injuries prevented them from playing on Saturday.

Top scorer: Daryl Murphy, 6 (all competitions)

Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images

Key Facts

• Reading have won their past two home league matches against Nottingham Forest.
• Forest have scored 14 goals in their past six league games against Reading.
• Reading have have won just one of their past six league games at home (D2 L3).

Prediction

I am personally torn over what to predict this week based on the last few performances I have watched. On the one hand, Reading in the past have delivered stunning results when they are the underdog and have a point to prove. However, Forest are the in-form team who have a consistent history of outscoring us.

Based on my last few predictions I think it will be safe to predict a draw, as Reading will look to a get a point without gambling for a win with the hope that Forest are content with their league position.

Happy Halloween everyone and let’s back the boys tonight! COME ON YOU URZZ!

Prediction - draw