READING will be looking to continue their momentum in the Championship when they host Blackpool on Wednesday evening.
The Royals climbed up to seventh in the table after they defeated Barnsley 1-0 on Saturday.
Veljko Paunović’s side has discovered their form and are on a run of five victories from their last six league matches.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s opponents at the Select Car Leasing Stadium dropped down to 15th in the table after they were beaten 2-1 at Nottingham Forest.
The Tangerines gained promotion to the Championship last season after they were victorious in the League One play-off final and have made a reasonable start to the season.
They are currently on 15 points after 12 matches and have a relatively tight defence having conceded 16 times, three less than Reading despite the gap of eight places in the table.
However, Blackpool have struggled at the other end of the pitch and have scored just 12 times, while the Royals have netted 18.
Shane Lavery is Blackpool’s top scorer so far this season with five goals to his name in 11 matches.
Blackpool manager Neil Critchley has only been in charge of the club since March 2020 but has transformed the team who finished in third place in League One last season before their play-off triumph.
Reading have a strong record against Blackpool and are unbeaten in the last five meetings between the sides.
The last two games between the teams have been in the FA Cup, where Blackpool earned a replay after a 2-2 draw at the Madejski in January 2020, only to be beaten 2-0 in the reverse tie with goals from Lucas Boye and Jordan Obita.
The last league meeting ended in a 1-1 stalemate at Bloomfield Road in 2015, while Blackpool’s last visit to the SCL saw the Royals run out as 3-0 winners in October 2014 with goals from Glenn Murray and Nick Blackman.
