On Sunday Veljko Paunovic and his side travel to Lancashire to face Alex Neil’s Preston North End.

Below we look at everything you need to know about the lunchtime game against the Lilywhites.

Recent Form
A season of mixed form for the historic side, they currently sit 10th and seven points outside of the play-off places.

The former ‘Invincibles’ ended a three game losing streak with a 1-0 win over Birmingham City on Wednesday, and will hope to back that up with a result against the Royals on Sunday.

Having beaten Reading 3-0 at the Madejski in November, only league leaders Norwich City have a better away record while only five teams have worse home records this season.

Team News
Just Louis Moult, Patrick Bauer and Declan Rudd remain out for the hosts.

Meanwhile for Reading, Michael Olise looks unlikely to feature after injuring his shoulder on Tuesday, and the likes of Yakou Meite, Andy Yiadom and Liam Moore are all out still.

Key Player
A player Reading fans know well, for all the wrong reasons, Scott Sinclair currently sits comfortably at the top of Preston’s scorers chart with eight.

Famously notching a hattrick against Brian McDermott’s Royals in the 2011 Play-Off Final, Sinclair is still proving his worth.

January signings Jayson Molumby and Ben Whiteman made their league debuts midweek, with Molumby playing a key part in their winner against Birmingham midweek.

Both players strengthen an already strong midfield for Sunday’s opponents, with defensive capabilities and attacking flair in equal measure.

Manager Thoughts
Alex Neil believes this fixture will be nothing but tough for the Lancashire side, despite the 3-0 win in November.

Speaking on the club website, he said:

“This one is going to be tough. They have got some players back who weren’t available at that point, which makes them stronger, so it is going to be a tough match.

“They are a good side, aren’t they? They have spent a lot of money on a lot of players. They have got a lot of guys who can’t even get into the team, in particular, the attacking options that they have are a big, big threat and you could see that the other night against Coventry, because Coventry played well and lost 3-0.”

Odds
According to Sky Bet at time of writing, Preston are 17/10, Reading at 7/4 and a draw is 21/10.