When : Saturday 26th August, 3pm
Where : St Andrews, Birmingham, B9 4RL
Capacity : 30,016
Away Stand : Gil Merrick Stand (lower tier)
What might I see in the area : Melancholia
Birmingham City and 'appy 'arry await Reading next in what we all hope will not be yet another poor away performance.
It might look winnable against opposition not particularly on brilliant form at the moment but then you could have said that about going to QPR and look what Reading did. But then Reading should be more wary this time as the club have managed just one win in the last ten games against clubs managed by Mr Redknapp.
Birmingham are still in the process of rebuilding and have recently signed Sam Gallagher from Southampton, have taken Carl Jenkinson and Cohen Bramall both on loan from Arsenal and are also apparently trying to get Robert Snodgrass on loan from West Ham. They will, however, be without Che Adams and Cheick Keita as well as possibly Michael Morrison
Reading have their standard injury list of course which means the likes of Swift, Obita, Kermorgant etc. will all be missing. Berg and Bodvarsson may get a place on the bench following their return to training. Beerens will also probably miss out after a having to return to Holland for a family issue.
Referee
Steve Martin steps up for this one
Previously...
24 Jan 2017 > Reading 1-0 Fulham
15 Oct 2016 > Queen's Park Rangers 1-1 Reading
15 Mar 2016 > Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Reading
23 Jan 2016 > Reading 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
19 Sep 2015 > Bristol City 0-2 Reading
25 Mar 2014 > Reading 1-3 Barnsley
Historically
It took Reading until 1986 before they managed a league game with Birmingham and of the first nine league games played between the sides, seven ended in draws. To me it just seems that the fixture has subsequently struggled with an air of dour tedium ever since - particularly as Birmingham have won more games than Reading both home and away
That said Reading do seem to do slightly better against the Blues in their own back yard as opposed to playing in Reading as the Royals have recorded five wins against Birmingham's six.
Usually there are goals in this game and a clean sheet for either side is a bit unlikely. However Reading are still searching for their first goal away from home so they will have a bit of work to do.
How to follow the game
[list=1]
[*]Get a ticket and travel to St Andrew's
[*]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, BBC iPlayer Radio (other radio apps are available ))
