On Good Friday Reading take a journey to Yorkshire to face play-off rivals Barnsley at Oakwell, in a game which will go a long way in deciding the future promotion hopes of the two sides.

Below we look at everything you need to know about the Tykes before kick-off.

Recent Form

Picking up lots of admirers this year for the way in which they play high-pressing, attacking football; along with the Royals, Barnsley are this season’s surprise package.

Surviving in the Championship on the final day last season, nine wins out of the last 11 has seen Valerien Ismael’s side fly up into promotion contention.

Losing 2-1 to Sheffield Wednesday before the international break shows the competition in the league, but Barnsley are yet to lose consecutive matches this calendar year.

 Last time out between the two sides Reading won 2-0 with second half goals from Yakou Meite and Michael Olise, however the away side were reduced to nine men at the Madejski.

Overall the two sides have met 77 times since 1926, with Reading edging the head-to-head 31 wins to 26.

Team News

Key men John Swift and Tom McIntyre are unlikely to be available for Veljko Paunovic, however experienced Michael Morrison and former Tykes captain Andy Yiadom are in contention to return after spells out with injury.

There are no injury concerns from the side that last played for the hosts last time out.

 

Key Player

Midfield lynchpin Alex Mowatt has been a key player for the side since joining from Leeds United in 2017.

With six goals and seven assists he has been crucial at providing a threat from deep.

Similar threats going forward are Cauley Woodrow, with 11 strikes to his name, and striker Carlton Morris has contributed five goals from the bench since the turn of the year.

However according to WhoScored the top performer has been Polish defender Michal Helik, with an average rating of 7.22.

He averages 6.2 ariel duals won per match, the second most in the squad, but has also scored five goals, level with January signing Daryl Dike.

How to Watch

The game will not be available on iFollow in the UK as it is being shown live on Sky Sports.

Odds

According to Sky Bet, at time of writing, the hosts are 13/10 to win, while Reading are 23/10 to complete the double over the opposition, and a draw is 21/10.