When : Saturday February 8 2025, 3pm
Where : John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield, HD1 6PX
Capacity 24,121
One of the very few games in the league to which Noel has previously led “the boys” into battle though this has something riding on it rather than the “dead rubber, doesn’t matter result” which blighted already relegated Reading last time they made this particular long trek north.
Huddersfield have been looking good for a play off spot pretty much since the third division started taking shape a few months back. They currently live in 5th place and even if every team below them won on Saturday they’d still be in 5th place being, as they are, 4 points clear of Orient’s 6th place charge.
What is of hope for Reading here is that Huddersfield’s recent form has taken the proverbial “drop off a cliff” as the Terriers have managed just 1 win (at Wycombe) from the last 7 and are currently riding on the back of 3 straight defeats. On top of that it’s been over 270 minutes since they last scored a goal at home (a face saving 88th minute equaliser v Burton), a run of 3 games against Rotherham (0-0), Bolton (0-1) and Birmingham (0-1).
The transfer window allowed Huddersfield to get shot of 4 players while bringing in 3 permanently (including Bolton’s leading scorer Dion Charles) and a Wolves loanee (Tawanda Chirewa) on deadline day. But then Reading actually managed an incoming deal too with Paul Bodin Jnr joining from Burton for the rest of the season (already looking forward to him being sent off for a foul committed by someone else).
Josh Koroma and Callum Marshall join Dion Charles as the serious goalscoring threats posed by Huddersfield while 36 year old Jonathan Hogg is still there, after well over a decade, and still regularly turning up doing a decent job as a defensive midfielder.
Out are Elliott, Dorsett and Mbengue and obviously Sam Smith has now transmogrified into the aforementioned Bodin. Yiadom, we are told, is in training but believe some u21 action is needed for him first so he’s probably not going to be involved again (though I’d say getting some time from the bench would be just as good).
This is another very difficult game in a horrible run of matches (Bolton, Huddersfield, Rotherham, Brum) in February where only the rearranged possible banana skin with the Shrews next Tuesday might provide some lift. So I’d take a point if it were offered now and hope that the team can put Shrewsbury down next week.
Referee
Scott Tallis
Previously
29 Dec 23 > Cheltenham Town 2-2 Reading
Historically
The playing record here is rather better than you'd expect for an awkward long trek up north. Of the 26 league seasons shared (all since 1976) Reading have managed 10 wins to Huddersfield's 13.
The last three visits there though have been an utter disaster producing 3 defeats and 8 conceded.
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 a RoyalsTV subscription
- BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)
