When : Tuesday 16th January. 8pm
Where : Madejski Stadium, Reading, RG2 0FL
Capacity : 24,161
And so the massed Reading fan will huddle together in the expanse of a 24k seater stadium trying to keep warm and being entertained by another scintillating display of fast paced action packed dynamic football for another ritual slaughter.
But enough of Stevenage it's Reading I think most fans will want to win and seeing as the consensus of opinion is that most will be "watching" the game on radio and by way of this thread let's get started.
After the 0-0 cr@pfest last week in darkest Stevenage we will all be hoping it can't be as bad again and that the glamour of a trip to Carlisle or Sheffield on Saturday week will bring the very best out of everyone concerned.
Fresh from the exciting 0-0 on Saturday Reading will once again be looking to get that strange round thing to hit the back of the mesh like structure that is strung between the two white sticky up things at each end of the ground. They certainly seem to be learning as the game at Hull saw the team trying to kick in the opposite direction to their opponents which is quite a jump from what we mostly saw at the Lamex.
We already expect that Swift and McShane will be missing from the team through injury so I would expect Ilori and Moore to be at the back with Richards and Gunter alongside. But then this is Jaap Stam so I expect any number of cockeyed permutations will be paradiddling through his mind in the next day or so before alighting on something deeply unimpressive that will probably win the day comfortably - only to be all changed again for the visit of Brentford.
As to Stevenage, well they grabbed a very late equaliser at Morecambe on Saturday from their defender Fraser Franks so will probably be as up for this game as possible
Referee
West Sussex has the honour of providing the services of American comic, and former English cricketer, Tim Robinson for this encounter
Previously
30 Sep 17 > Reading 1-2 Norwich City
29 Apr 17 > Reading 1-0 Wigan Athletic
01 Oct 16 > Reading 1-1 Derby County
02 Feb 16 > Ipswich Town 2-1 Reading
21 Sep 13 > Derby County 1-3 Reading
Historically
Three FA Cup games, all in recent seasons. Stevenage beat Reading at the Mad Stad a year after Reading beat them at the Lamex. Then there was the 0-0 a week or so ago which puts us all here. So that’s one win, one draw and a goal aggregate of 2 each
How to follow the game
- Get a ticket and travel
- Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes
- Ring/text a mate for updates
- Use an iFollow subscription
- BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area (although as this is a cup game it may well be live on the 'net as well))
