When : Saturday, 30th April, 3pm
Where : Madejski Stadium, Reading, RG2 0FL
Capacity : 24,161
A game that is now completely meaningless in the scheme of things thanks to Barnsley and Peterborough maintaining their on field successes last weekend. As a result I really don’t know what to expect, perhaps the fact that safety has finally been secured will see a more relaxed, and possibly, better performance or maybe we might all get to see more of an experimental idea or two being tried in readiness for next season (if PI is still at the club of course). That said the same iffy defending and frustrating attacking really wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
For WBA the season pretty much disappeared at the turn of the year and hasn’t recovered especially, as many Baggies fans might tell you, after the appointment of Steve Bruce.
It was the Throstles’ form in January and February that put paid the their biennual return to the Premier League. During that time they struggled to one win only (3-0 at home to Peterborough) in 12 games and lost on 8 occasions. Since then though WBA have played 10, won 4, drawn 3 and lost 3 so all very mid table which is now where they find themselves after the aforementioned months of January and February dropped them right out of the automatic promotion places.
On their travels the Baggies have won just once in 2022 (2-0 at Hull) so aren’t exactly world beaters but then with Reading’s terrific home form they don’t need to be. Karlan Grant (15 goals) and Callum Robinson (7 goals) carry the striking threat and of course there’s Andy Carroll (3 goals) to wrap things up but at least the game is completely irrelevant so when he nets the inevitable late winner it won’t matter in the slightest. Of the rest of the team Alex Mowatt, Jake Livermore and Grady Diangana can catch the eye so there’s plenty to keep the Reading squad awake on the day.
Kean Bryan, Daryl Dike and regular keeper Sam Johnstone will all miss the game through injury for WBA while Reading should have a bigger squad of options than they have had nearly all season with only Araruna, Dann, Swift and Rinomhota definitely out.
Lastly, I presume there will be the usual “lap of honour” by the players (if anyone can be bothered after such a totally underwhelming season, especially at home) but as there are currently only 10 “senior” players contracted for next season who knows how many of them will be gone over the summer.
At the end of the day though thankfully Reading are safe in 21st, they can’t be caught and can only get to 20th by winning both remaining games and hoping Brum don’t get more than 1 point from their remaining games (presuming the GD can swing by 7 as well of course). Be good if that could happen just to give the players a target but realistically this one is going to mean naff all to either side so this game and the next at Luton can just be enjoyed!
Referee
Matthew “did this fixture last time it came round” Donohue
Previously
16 Feb 22 > Peterborough United 0-0 Reading
07 Aug 21 > Stoke City 3-2 Reading
26 Dec 20 > Reading 2-1 Luton Town
12 Feb 20 > Reading 1-2 West Bromwich Albion
11 Dec 19 > Barnsley 1-1 Reading
21 Sep 19 > Reading 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
10 Aug 19 > Hull City 1-0 Reading
Historically
This is the eighteenth league season shared with WBA, of which 14 have been since 1986/87. So far it’s pretty close with 6 wins for WBA and 5 for Reading with 6 drawn which is possibly not too bad considering the Throstles’ are largely a tier 1/2 yo-yo club and at least this is the home fixture rather than the away version which, in the league, is a bit of a graveyard for the Biscuitmen.
Conversely though, perhaps this should be sold to the players as a cup game as WBA do appear to have very big issues when facing Reading in a cup competition as their 0 wins and 4 defeats from the 6 cup played games in Reading shows.
WBA, though, have only failed to score on 2 occasions in the league at Reading and Reading themselves have only failed to score on 3 occasions so it all rather suggests there are goals to be had in this one - so let’s hope they turn up for the home team for a change.
How to follow the game
- Get a ticket and travel to the Mad Stad
- Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes
- Ring/text a mate for updates
- Use a RoyalTV subscription
- BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)
he knows the club inside and out and has great experience with young players and was by all means a great scout, and the guy is begging to come back!! Its a no brainer for me.