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Paul Clement says tomorrow’s clash with Sunderland is the biggest game of the season.
Reading sit 19th in the Championship, five points clear of the relegation zone with four games to play while Sunderland are down in 23rd, still in with a chance of staying up.
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And having finally broken their Saturday home victory hoodoo against Preston last time out, Reading fans can arrive with some confidence of clinching a league double over the Black Cats.
Form
Reading have won both home games since Clement replaced Jaap Stam with backs-to-the-wall 1-0 successes against Preston and QPR, but lost at Fulham on Tuesday evening.
As for Sunderland, despite their lowly league position they have lost just one of their last four matches and won 4-1 away at Derby County at the end of March.
But they were dented by a late equaliser in a home draw against Norwich in midweek to leave them on the brink of the drop.
The form table over the last 10 games sees Sunderland 23rd and Reading 21st with just 16 points between them.
Team news
Reading are sweating on the fitness of Tyler Blackett with the defender rated as 50/50 to be available for selection.
The former Man Utd man has missed the last two matches but could return to battle Omar Richards for the left-back spot.
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Elsewhere, Leandro Bacuna misses out through suspension following a red card at Fulham but Paul McShane, Tommy Elphick, Joseph Mendes, Garath McCleary, Stephen Quinn, Callum Harriott and Jordan Obita are all still out injured.
Likely Reading FC line-up: Mannone, Gunter, Ilori, Moore, Richards, van den Berg, Kelly, Swift, Aluko, Barrow, Bodvarsson.
Sunderland boss Chris Coleman has a selection headache of his own. Captain John O’Shea will miss the trip through injury but Marc Wilson and Paddy McNair are likely to be available.
What they said
Clement: “This is the biggest game of the season for this club. The players know that, I know it and I think the fans know it as well.
“We want to play well, still with that fighting spirit but we know it’s a very important game and three points are going to be massive for us.
“We didn’t create much against QPR and Preston but we defended pretty well for long periods against Fulham, one of the best attacking sides in the league.
“We’re going to have to replicate that every game in the run-in and be better offensively.
“It’s a big help when your fans are feeling positive about their team and they’re getting behind the team and they did that in the previous two fixtures. I’m really hoping they’re going to do that again on Saturday.”
Coleman: “We’ve got to go there and roll our sleeves up.
“Let’s have a crack at it, let’s go for three points, let’s try and win the game by hook or by crook and let’s see where we are at the end of that.
“I don’t think Reading are going to get sucked into it but we’ve gone to Derby and won. There’s nothing for us to be afraid of.”
Previous meetings
Reading picked up a 3-1 win at Stadium of Light back in December thanks to a Mo Barrow brace and Dave Edwards strike, cancelling out Lewis Grabban’s late penalty.
That was the third Royals victory against the Black Cats in four games, including the last meeting at Madejski back in 2013, winning 2-1 with Jimmy Kebe netting a brace.
Sunderland have not won in Berkshire since 2004 where goals from Darren Byfield and Tommy Smith guided them to a 2-0 success.
Other Reading men to grab winning goals in this fixture since then are Nicky Forster, Stephen Hunt and Dave Kitson.
Who else is in action?
Saturday sees another huge relegation six-pointer between Barnsley and Bolton at Oakwell.
Elsewhere, Burton Albion could be officially relegated if they lose to Derby while Birmingham make the short trip to champions elect Wolves on Sunday afternoon.
Odds
Reading are the clear favourites to make it three home wins on the spin, priced at 13/10. Sunderland are available at 21/10 while the draw is 23/10.
The last two games at the Mad Stad have ended in 1-0 victories and you can get 15/2 on that being the score again.
