READING FC host Wigan Athletic in their final home match of the campaign with their Championship status under serious threat.
After defeat to Coventry City at the weekend, the Royals find themselves in the precarious position in the relegation zone with just two games to go.
With the three teams directly above them in the table with games in hand, it will take a sizeable effort and a large chunk of fortune to see Reading escape the drop.
Both teams are in serious danger of facing the drop to League One with Wigan needing a win at the Select Car Leasing Stadium to avoid their relegation from being confirmed.
Having looked almost certain to succumb to the drop, the Latics managed to claw back some hope by finding back to back wins.
A midweek win away at Stoke City courtesy of Will Keane’s goal was followed by a victory over play-off chasing Millwall on Saturday thanks to an 84th minute winner from Thelo Aasgaard.
Shaun Maloney’s side remain bottom of the pile but are now just three points behind Reading and four points behind Huddersfield heading into the final two games.
Wigan have scored the fewest goals of any team in the division, netting just 37 times in 44 games.
Keane has been their most prolific player and has managed 12 goals in 42 games which puts him joint 11th in the list of top scorers in the Championship.
The Latcis also have the joint least number of wins this season having picked up just 10 victories, putting them on 40 points.
However, Wigan have collected two more wins on the road this season than Reading which gives them hope going into their final away trip of the season knowing that they need to pick up points to stay in the fight.
The Royals were victorious in the reverse fixture at the DW Stadium back in September as Tom Ince netted the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute with a sublime free-kick.
But Reading’s perilous run of form, which has seen them now go 11 Championship games without a win, means they are in desperate need of putting an end to their winless streak to find an unlikely route to survival.
Reading will be hoping to have Yakou Meite back in contention after interim boss Noel Hunt confirmed that the forward is expected to return to training during the week.
Shane Long and Tom McIntyre, who were originally thought to have been out for the remainder of the campaign, both made substitute cameos at Coventry and are likely to be in the squad for the weekend.
