When : Saturday, 14th September, 3pm
Where : Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS3 6RS
Capacity : 35,100
Away Stand : East Stand near the SE corner
What might I see in the area : Chemicals
And quite early this season Reading are set to remove the longest league trek of the season from the list of forthcoming attractions.
Hoping to pick up the pieces of a fitful start and a bit of a disappointment last time out, Reading make the trip on the back of another tedious international break and all the worries that will bring of no real training and who will come back tired and/or injured. In addition the team goes in the hope of breaking a miserable run of games against Middlesbrough that has seen five defeats from the last five games played.
The ‘boro have had a bit of a poor start to the season and currently sit two places and one point behind Reading. Despite that they are unbeaten in their last three including two without defeat at the Riverside so it’s the usual “not at all easy” game you get in this division.
Jonathan Woodgate has the reins at the club now as things begin to change up north and their early struggle is probably down to the changes settling in. The likes of Darren Randolph, Britt Asombalonga, Adam Clayton and George Friend are still there and more than capable of making a side that can cause Reading frustrations and problems. Meanwhile Rudy Gestede is injured and will miss the game.
Reading are still finding out what they are and have shown that they could live with the best but equally that stinker of a second half v Charlton shows that they are very much work in progress so let’s hope JG and his squad learn quick from these things when they happen.
Barring problems for those on international duty, Reading are pretty much short on injuries (touchwood) with Obita now being good bench material and Blackett expected to be able to return to training routines this week. Miazga was the other worry before the break but the hope was that he’d be back very quickly after the international distraction though perhaps more in contention for the visit of Blackburn but we shall see.
Lastly, Jose’s no. 2, Jorge Mendonca, will be hoping to avoid a hat trick of cautions.
Referee
This game sees Robert Jones take command in search of his first Reading win in four games
Previously
16 Feb 19 > Sheffield United 4-0 Reading
26 Dec 18 > Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Reading
03 Aug 18 > Reading 1-2 Derby County
13 Mar 18 > Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 Reading
30 Jan 18 > Burton Albion 1-3 Reading
Historically
Though league games with Middlesbrough stretch back all the way to 1927 they are a bit rare with only 16 played in Middlesbrough to date most of which have been since the late 80s. Of those 16 Reading haven't done too badly by recording 4 wins to 'boro's 8 however Reading have conceded twice as many as Middlesbrough (26 to 13) in that time.
Since 'boro moved to the Riverside Reading have visited on 11 occasions and won 3 but have lost 7 (including each of the last three visits by 2-1) so the suggestion is there won't be any sitting on the fence and one side or the other will run out winners. Additionally there should be goals about as the only draw at the Riverside was 1-1.
So 0-0 may well be a good bet then..
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)
