Reading look to make it consecutive wins for the first time this season as they make the short trip to West London to face league leaders Fulham at Craven Cottage.

A 3-1 victory over newly promoted Peterborough United was a much needed three points for Veljko Paunovic after a run of just one win in six up to that point.

A stunning free-kick from in-form John Swift was almost outshone by a brace for new loan signing Tom Dele-Bashiru as the Royals scored three in the final 30 minutes.

However having still just won two games in seven, Paunovic remains under scrutiny from the stands as the start to the season has been less than satisfactory.

Meanwhile for the Cottagers life back in the Championship could not have gone much smoother.

Five wins and a draw in their opening seven sees them a point clear of Bournemouth at the summit of the league table and nine points clear of Saturday’s opponents.

In midweek, Marco Silva’s men confidently dispatched of Birmingham City 1-4 at St Andrews to bounce back after a shock 1-0 defeat to Blackpool last weekend.

Team News

The hosts may be without teenage starlet Fabio Carvalho after the 19-year-old sustained a toe injury, however face no fresh concerns since the midweek win over Blues in the Second City.

It is a different story for the Royals as up to nine first team players remain on the treatment table.

One piece of positive news though is that the knock goalkeeper Rafael Cabral picked up in the 3-3 draw with QPR last week is not as bad as originally thought, and the Brazilian is back training.

But after a strong performance in midweek, Academy graduate Luke Southwood would be disappointed to return to the bench so quickly.

Also, captain Liam Moore limped off just before half-time on Tuesday after a nasty collision damaged his ankle. Youngster Tom Holmes is likely to start in his place on Saturday.

 

Head to Head

Two sides very acquainted with each other over recent times, the sides have met every year for the last decade.

The most recent meeting was a successful one for the travelling supporters as Mark Bowen’s side won 1-2 on New Year’s Day 2020, however that was the first win at the Cottage since 2013 and just their seventh win at the ground in 27 attempts.

With a 26% win percentage in Fulham, this is only bettered against 10 other sides in the Championship; such as 41% at the John Smiths Stadium in Huddersfield and 42% at Pride Park against Derby County.

Overall Fulham lead the head-to-head; winning 22 and Reading winning 19 of the 57 encounters since 1905.

Odds

According to Sky Bet at the time of writing, the hosts are 4/11 to win and remain top of the table, with a draw 19/5 and a Reading win 15/2.