League One outfit Reading welcome Championship side Burnley to the Select Car Leasing Stadium for a third-round tie in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams square off for the first time since April 2023 when they played out a goalless stalemate in the second tier.
Match preview
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Reading were unable to extend their winning run in League One to four matches when they locked horns with Charlton Athletic last weekend, but they still managed to pick up a point from a 0-0 draw at The Valley.
Noel Hunt now boasts a record of three wins, three draws and two defeats from eight matches since replacing Ruben Selles as head coach, and he sees his Royals side sitting sixth in the League One table, three points clear of seventh-placed Stockport County who have played a game more.
Amidst ongoing uncertainty over the club's ownership status, Reading have their eyes on promotion from the third tier, but they must now shift their focus to the FA Cup and will attempt to progress from the third round for just the fourth time in the last nine seasons.
The Royals, who were knocked out by non-league Eastleigh in round two last season, required extra time to beat seventh-tier outfit Harborough Town 5-3 in an enthralling second-round tie at the beginning of December, a month after beating League Two side Fleetwood Town 2-0 in round one.
Reading will welcome a third successive home tie this weekend, as they have won 10 of their last 14 FA Cup games on home soil, including each of their last four. However, the Royals have only advanced from two of their last nine FA Cup ties against teams from a higher division.
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Since losing 1-0 at Millwall on November 3, Burnley have put together a 13-game unbeaten run in the Championship, accumulating 29 points in the process to boost their promotion push and title credentials.
The Clarets, who have not conceded a single goal for over 360 minutes, followed up back-to-back 0-0 draws with Middlesbrough and Stoke City with a slender 1-0 victory over East Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers last weekend, courtesy of a second-half strike from Zian Flemming.
Scott Parker has hailed Burnley's "sensational" defensive resilience - with a Championship-low nine goals conceded in 26 games - and he was "satisfied" with his team's derby success at Ewood Park which has helped them move to within one point of leaders Leeds United.
Tricky encounters with promotion rivals Sunderland and Leeds are on the horizon for Burnley, but their immediate focus is on the FA Cup as they bid to avoid suffering successive third-round eliminations for the first time since a run of four between 2012 and 2015.
Success on Saturday is not a given for Burnley, though, as they have lost their last two FA Cup meetings with Reading, while they have only won one of their last 20 away games with the Royals, drawing nine and losing 10 in all competitions.
Team News
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Reading's Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Jeriel Dorsett, Andy Yiadom, Adrian Akande and Michael Craig have all returned to training this week, the latter taking part in partial sessions, but Saturday's game is set to come too soon for the quintet, while Mamadi Camara is a couple of weeks away from returning to first-team action.
Hunt will weigh up whether to recall goalkeeper David Button, who started in the previous two rounds, of stick with first-choice shot-stopper Joel Pereira between the sticks.
Attacking midfielder Harvey Knibbs and striker Sam Smith have been two standout performers for the Royals this season, scoring a combined 19 goals in all competitions, and they are both expected to be named in the starting lineup.
As for Burnley, Jordan Beyer, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei and Mike Tresor all remain sidelined as they continue to recover from injury, while Hannibal Mejbri will serve the second of a three-game ban.
However, Manuel Benson and Nathan Redmond have both returned to training this week, the latter of whom has not played since January last year, and they may have an outside chance of featuring in some capacity this weekend.
New signing Oliver Sonne is now available to make his Clarets debut and the Danish right-back is set to battle with Connor Roberts for a start at right-back.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Button; Mbengue, Dean, Bindon, Kanu; Savage, Wing, Knibbs; Abrefa, Smith, Garcia
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Hladky; Sonne, Egan, Worrall, Pires; Cullen, Laurent; Koleosho, Brownhill, Anthony; Foster
We say: Reading 1-2 Burnley
Both teams will fancy their chances of success on Saturday, but Burnley will be regarded as favourites, even though their away record at Reading leaves little to be desired, and they should find a way to edge past their League One counterparts, even if Parker opts to make changes to his lineup.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
