29 October 2016
By Alex Bower
"The league is our main priority and we're really focussed on it. We're going to go into the game with confidence, I've been enjoying the style of play and the passing football, not many players these days want to play the ball long, it's about possession football and trying to be patient with the ball."
- Reading FC Defender Jordan Obita
"The Villa result at home was really disappointing we wanted to keep the home run going. You can't take it away from us the run we had at the beginning of the season. We want to look to start that again now, starting on Saturday and if we can get a win then that's really going to help us in the table."
- Reading FC Defender Liam Moore
"We're going to Reading with the aim of getting three points and improving our league position, which isn't good enough right now."
- Nottingham Forest Head Coach Philippe Montanier
Attention returns to the Championship on Saturday after Reading's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the EFL Cup earlier this week. The Royals will be looking to carry on their winning streak in the league as they take on Nottingham Forest at the Madejski Stadium.
A narrow 1-0 win against Rotherham United last time out saw Reading move as high as eighth in the Championship. With Garath McCleary missing a penalty, it looked like the Royals would be taking a point back to Berkshire. A late goal from captain Paul McShane, however, secured a narrow win against the bottom placed side.
Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, will be looking to improve after their 2-1 defeat to Cardiff City. Cardiff were 2-0 ahead by half-time courtesy of goals from Aron Gunnarsson and Joe Ralls. Despite a red card for Thomas Lam in the second, Forest were able to pull a goal back with a late Henri Lansbury penalty. The 2-1 result was subsequently the Reds' second defeat in a row.
After making a number of changes for the Arsenal game, Jaap Stam will be expected to largely revert to his usual Championship starting eleven. Players such as Dominic Samuel, Liam Kelly and Tennai Watson will be hoping, however, to retain their places in the squad.
The Reds' have far fewer options to choose from at the weekend as they have nine absent players either through suspension or injury. One player returning from suspension is the ever-popular Matt Mills.
Reading do not have the best record against Forest, having lost on more occasions than they have won over the years. Of the last four games, the Royals have lost three. The equivalent game last season, however, ended in a 2-1 win for Reading. Despite going 1-0 down to a Ben Osborn goal, second-half goals from Matej Vydra and Oliver Norwood secured the win.
After their defeat to Aston Villa, Reading will be looking to get their home form back on track. The interesting statistic to take note of is that Forest are the only Championship side not to keep a clean sheet so far this season. That, combined with a concerning disciplinary record, does not bode well for the side. If there was any time for Reading to start scoring more, it is now.
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