For the first time in seven seasons, Reading will take on Blackpool in a league match and it’s fair to say and lot has changed in that time.

The Royals have had seven permanent managers since the 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road in April 2015, whilst the Tangerines have since been relegated down to League One and League Two, before enjoying two promotions in recent seasons.

So, what can be expected of tonight’s fixture?

Well, Reading are unbeaten in their last five matches against Pool, which includes two matches in the 2020 FA Cup, where they defeated the North West 2-0 at Bloomfield Road in a reply.

Going into the match, Reading are on a great run of form as they have won five of their last six matches and have kept three clean sheets in that time.

One of those victories was against promotion-pushing Fulham at Craven Cottage, with Marco Silva’s men being one of the favourites to go up this season.

Their recent impressive run is off the back from a dire start to the season, which saw Reading win just once from their first seven matches.

However, it looks like Veljko Paunovic’s men have turned a corner, as they have gone from being one of the basement teams in the Championship to being outside the play-off places.

The sudden rise is the middle of one of the worst injury crisis the club have ever had, as Reading are still without the likes of Junior Hoilett, Dejan Tetek, Michael Morrison, Tom Holmes, Alen Halilovic, Tom McIntyre, Lucas Joao, Yakou Meite, Felipe Araruna and Andy Rinomhota for the Blackpool match.

Blackpool, similarly to Reading, struggled at the start of the campaign as they managed one league win in their first seven Championship matches, following their promotion back to the second tier in May.

But, in recent weeks, they have slowly moved up the table after they picked up 10 points from the last 15 available.

One of those wins was against their Lancashire rivals in Blackburn Rovers at the start of the month.

In terms of a result, I think Reading may be a bit too strong for the Championship newcomers.

My perdition: Reading 3-1 Blackpool