Reading FC vs Preston North End: Match Preview

Despite a promising start to his reign as Reading manager, Paul Clement faces another hurdle in getting the Royals out of their Relegation dog fight. Tuesday’s night thrashing at Aston Villa may have dampened the optimism in the fan base, but the Royals are back at the Madejski Stadium this weekend, looking to rebuild their once impressive home presence. Preston North End visit knowing that they need a win to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Reading

Form: DLLWL

Yann Kermorgant is now eligible to play after serving his one match ban from his sending off against QPR. The Frenchman could start as Jón Dadi Bödvarrson is being assessed for fitness after missing the last three games through injury. Omar Richards will face a late fitness test too after his recent spell on the sidelines. The Royals have Dave Edwards suspended after his dismissal at Villa Park.

Reading will look to put the horror show at Villa Park behind them and hope to have the full Madejski crowd behind them. Hopefully we can get a result here to put distance between ourselves and the bottom three, as we can’t rely on the teams below us to keep dropping points.

Top goalscorer (all competitions): Jón Dadi Bödvarrson (10)

Preston North End

Form: WLWLL

Preston face no injury concerns going into the match on Saturday, giving manager Alex Neil a selection headache of who to pick for this crucial match. Despite sitting in 10^th place in the Championship, the Lilywhites are within touching distance of the play-off places, with a win at Reading potentially pushing them as high as sixth if results go in their favour.

However, they are recovering from two straight defeats against Sheffield Wednesday and play-off rivals Derby County. It is fair to say they are missing the goal scoring prowess of Jordan Hugill, who completed a move to West Ham in January.

Top goalscorer (all competitions): Sean Maguire (9)

What do the stats say?

• Out of their last five league games against Preston, Reading have lost four.
• Preston have only beaten Reading away once in 17 trips to the Madejski Stadium.
• Reading have won just two of their last 20 Championship fixtures (D7 L11).
• The Royals have conceded 60 goals this season compared to Preston’s 47.
• Jón Dadi Bödvarsson averages 149 minutes per goal this season, and is having his best campaign in the Championship with seven goals in the league.

How can I follow the game?

Audio coverage is on BBC Radio Berkshire at 104.4, but not available online. The game will be streamed on the EFL iFollow service for overseas fans, but UK supporters can only listen. Full match highlights will be available on the app after the game, whilst the club will post the highlights on their respective social media pages and YouTube channel.

Prediction

Reading 2 Preston 0