These are two sides who were tipped to fare well in this campaign and as it stands both have had reasonable seasons. Their recent relegation from the Premiership almost automatically made Burnley one of the favourites for promotion, while Reading were at one point favourites for the title having freshened up their squad during the summer. As it stands Burnley are living up to expectations and sit in 4th spot, while Reading are probably underachieving a little and are down in 11th.
Burnley supporters may not have felt Brian Laws possessed all the qualities to be the right man to lead them this season, but one thing they knew he had was a vast experience of this division. Through the summer Laws recruited shrewdly and the rewards now appear to be paying off, with the club sat in 4th position after the opening twelve games of the season. Their last defeat came mid-September and while they have drawn a lot of games, their league position speaks for itself. Goals do not appear to be a problem and six goals in their last two games has made the Clarets one of the most dangerous sides in the division in front of goal. They will also be heading into this game with plenty of confidence having strolled past Barnsley in their last game with a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Reading on the other hand are a few places lower in 11th although their supporters will still be quite happy with the progress they’ve made last season. It was only last year that the Royals were rooted in the bottom three at this point in the campaign and since taking over, manager Brian McDermott has changed the club’s fortunes around. However, their season so far can be described as nothing but inconsistent and that’s probably the reason why they’re only sat in mid-table. They come into this fixture on the back of two defeats and while they have been narrow, McDermott will know that his side must start picking up points if they are to meet expectations and challenge in the top six.
Burnley will again be without the services of Clarke Carlisle for this one as the former Leeds defender completes a three match suspension. However, Brian Laws will be able to select Danny Fox, who didn’t feature in their last game due to a thigh injury. There’s just the one update for the visitors as Reading will be hoping for good news on Jay Tabb. The former Brentford man hasn’t featured since August but is nearing closer to return following a foot problem.
As for a prediction, we’ll have to tip Burnley in this one. The Clarets have hit some good form recently and with Reading losing their last two, we think they’re there for the taking. Our prediction
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