Aden Flint

Aden Flint completed a transfer from S***don Town in July 2013 and is one of the longest serving players in the current Bristol City squad.

Playing at centre-back, the 28 year old has become an important player for the Robins and will certainly be a player that Reading fans will need to keep an eye on when the two sides meet at the Madejski Stadium.

His defensive stats are fairly impressive. For example, during the last campaign Flint managed to average 1.3 tackles per game and 1.5 interceptions per game. That’s pretty respectable considering his side finished in a lowly 17th place in the Championship table.

However, the Robins conceded 65 goals last season and have already let in six goals in five games in this current campaign. Therefore the likes of Liam Kelly might find life a little bit easier in terms of playing balls in behind for the likes of Modou Barrow and Sone Aluko to run onto than in recent games.

Secondly, with an average of nine clearances per 90 minutes last season, you can expect Flint to just boot the ball out into row Z rather than him attempt to play his way out of trouble.

This is further reinforced by the defender’s passing stats. Last season Flint managed to average 36 passes per game with average pass completion rate of 66%.

Therefore, when Bristol City have the ball in and around their 18 yard box, the Royals front three will need press high, which will put the Robins defence under pressure and hopefully force them into making a mistake.

Finally, I’ll take a look at Flint’s offensive stats, which again look impressive. Last season Flint scored five goals and got one assist to his name. He also managed to average 1.3 shots per game, which again isn’t too bad for a central defender.

Furthermore, Flint’s goals played a huge role in Bristol City securing survival in the Championship. The 1-0 win at Wigan in which he scored the in the 88th minute being the most noteworthy.

That goal incidentally came from a set-piece, therefore the likes of Paul McShane and Liam Moore will need to man-mark Flint properly and make sure that he doesn’t cause chaos in the Reading penalty area.

Jamie Paterson

The Robins signed Paterson in the summer of July 2016 from Nottingham Forest and has become a key player for manager Lee Johnson’s side.

Last season Paterson scored four goals and got four assists in 22 Championship games.

It is also worth noting that whilst on loan at Huddersfield in the 2015/16 season, Paterson scored against the Royals in both home and away games.

Paterson’s passing stats aren’t too bad eithier having made an average of 25 passes per game with a 75% pass completion rate in the last campaign.

His offensive stats are also impressive with 1.5 shots per game with a 60% shooting accuracy being achieved last season.

This means that when Paterson is on the ball, Chris Gunter will need to make sure that the former Walsall man does not cut inside and get shots away on Vito Mannone’s goal.

Secondly, Paterson managed to average 1.3 crosses per 90 minutes, this means that Gunter will also need to stop the crosses from coming into the area for the Bristol City striker(s) to feed from.

Paterson also managed to average 1.1 tackles per game, as well as winning 42% of his duels. So expect him to track back when Reading are on the attack.

Bobby Reid

The final player that Reading fans should keep an eye on is Bobby Reid.

Playing in a number 10 role behind the striker or upfront, Reid has become a real fan favourite at Ashton Gate having come through the Robins’ academy.

Reid has made a fantastic start to this season with four goals and one assist in five league games. His offensive stats this season have been also striking to look at with an average of 2 shots per game and a shooting accuracy of 63%.

This is much better compared to last season, as Reid managed to average 2.1 shots per game, but with a 39% shooting accuracy.

His passing stats are also impressive to look at. For example, last season Reid managed to average 23.6 passes per game with an average pass completion of 77%

This means that the likes of Leandro Bacuna and Joey Van Den Berg will need to man-mark Reid tightly, and make sure that he doesn’t start pulling the strings in midfield.

All this could prove to be the difference, if Reading are to maintain their recent good run of form.

Here’s Bobby Reid scoring a brace for Bristol City, in their 3-1 win over Barnsley on the opening day of the season.