Reading will be out to put an end to three consecutive home defeats when they host Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday evening (8pm kick-off).
The Royals have won just two of their last six Championship matches, both of which away from home, with their form at the Madejski Stadium jeopardising their place in the top-six.
Tony Mowbray’s side were flying at the start of the season, scoring goals for fun with Adam Armstrong and Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliot making their mark on the league.
However, Rovers have been in a terrible vein of form which has seen them slip down to 15th position in the table.
They are winless in their last six games and only ended a run of five straight defeats with a draw at home to Coventry City on Saturday.
They have fell drastically down the table despite possessing one of the most potent strikers in the division. Armstrong has 19 goals to his name from 31 games.
Rovers have a significantly higher goal difference (eight) than the teams around them in the table, and have even managed one more goal than fifth-placed Reading this season with 46, and have only conceded one more goal than the Royals (38).
However, their form has been in stark contrast to their promising start to the campaign which has seen manager Mowbray come under criticism in the past couple of months.
The Royals may be without midfielder Andy Rinomhota for Tuesday’s clash after he was subbed off with a hamstring injury against Rotherham United.
Paunović said: “He (Rinomhota) said if he pushed more, he could have got a bigger injury so he reported it quickly and we reacted in the same manner, so we will assess it.
“He has a couple of days to recover for Balckburn so it’s probably going to be tough, but you never know.
“He is a tough, strong lad, a fantastic player and person, so he is very positive for the team. We will look to recover him as soon as possible and see how it goes.”
Meanwhile, there may be the added boost of Yakou Méïté returning from injury after the manager confirmed that he would be in training with the team ahead of the Blackburn game.
Paunović continued: “He (Méïté) will start training with the team this week so it’s a possibility he will be involved for Blackburn.
“The main thing is we build his fitness so he can respond to the demands of the game when he’s ready to go.”
