Reading welcome Derby County to the Madejski Stadium in a crunch Bank Holiday Monday relegation six-pointer in the Sky Bet Championship.
Victory would lift Reading up to 19th and five points clear of the relegation zone, whereas Derby will remain rock-bottom with a win but cut their deficit towards safety down to just eight points.
Team News
Andy Yiadom is a doubt for Reading as he continues to recover from a minor knock.
Jahmari Clarke (ankle) and Junior Hoilett (hamstring) are doubts but Tom McIntyre (foot), Michael Morrison, Yakou Meite (both knee), Lucas Joao (hip) and Andy Rinomhota (ankle) are ruled out.
Derby have no fresh injury concerns to report as Lee Buchanan and Krystian Bielik remain absent with knee injuries.
Stat Attack
- Reading have won three of their last five meetings against Derby (W3, L2).
- Derby have claimed five points from their last five visits to Reading (W1, D2, L2).
- Six of John Swift’s eight league goals for Reading this season have been scored at Madejski Stadium.
- Wayne Rooney’s Rams have only won two of their 12 away league games this season (W2, D5, L5).
- John Busby is again in charge of this fixture – having refereed their first meeting this season which Derby won 1-0 at Pride Park in September 2021.
Prediction
Having had three weeks off due to a Coronavirus outbreak, it is difficult to predict how Reading could turn out here because they certainly are heading into this game without much match practice and their recent form has been inconsistent.
Derby meanwhile are coming into this game with three wins in three consecutive matches although they have had to grind out those wins, which should offer Reading hope but if the Rams can turn up and get an early lead then survival is a huge possibility.
Either way, this game is a must-win for both teams but based on current form, I am going for an away win but Derby need to start claiming more solid wins than just scraping one-goal margin victories here and there.
Prediction: Reading 0-2 Derby
Result: Reading 2-2 Derby