Match Preview

When Tuesday 11 September, 7.45pm kick-off
Who and Where WEST HAM UNITED (Home, Madejski Stadium, League Division Two)
Ticket Info

Pay in advance or on the day, normal home match prices apply.
This match is now sold out.
A crowd of over 22,000 is expected.

Upper West Stand:
Adults: £18 in advance, £20 on the day.
Concessions: £12 in advance, £14 on the day.
The Upper West Stand is RESERVED seating

Lower West, East, North and South Stands:

Adults: £13 in advance, £15 on the day.
Concessions: £8 in advance, £9 on the day.
The East and West Stands are RESERVED seating.
The North Stand is RESERVED seating.


Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling the ticket office on 0118 968 1000.

Travel,
Food and Beer.

Home match - See away fans guide for travel, food and beer guide.

Team news

It's not clear just how seriously West Ham will take this game. You'd have thought they'd want to win it to have a chance of actually winning the trophy next Spring - so with that in mind we can expect close to a first team line up from the Hammers. That will almost certainly mean the return of popular ex-Reading goalkeeper Shaka Hislop who should play. Be ready to give him a good reception. Whatever West Ham's line-up it's sure to include some big names. Meanwhile Reading will probably stick to the team that lost at home against Cardiff City at the weekend. Possible changes for the Royals could include the starting partnership of Butler and Cureton - with Butler starting in place of Rougier. Williams had a shakey game on Saturday but should start ahead of Viveash.

Reading - from: Whitehead, Murty, Williams, Whitbread, Robinson, Igoe, Harper, Parkinson, A.Smith, Butler, Rougier, Henderson, Cureton, Viveash, Jones, Ashdown.

West Ham United- from: Hislop, Winterburn, Song, Dailly, Schemmel, Sinclair, Carrick, Hutchison, Cole, Moncur, Kanoute, Todorov, Di Canio, Defoe, Forrest, Soma.

Form Guide

Click the link below for Reading's recent form:
View Latest Second Division Table And Form Table

West Ham are yet to win a match this season - and have only scored one goal all term. That might sound unimpressive - but then you realise they've only had one home game and that was against Leeds in which they earnt a 0-0 draw with a promising performance. Away from home West Ham lost by a single goal at Liverpool and drew 0-0 with Derby most recently:

18 Aug: Liverpool 2 West Ham 1 (Premiership)
25 Aug: West Ham 0 Leeds 0 (Premiership)
8 Sep: Derby 0 West Ham 0 (Premiership)

Previous Meetings 

Reading and West Ham may not have met competitively in recent history, but the two sides met on a regular basis in the old Southern League many many years ago. More recently the two sides have played a couple of pre-season friendlies and that's the lot!

Match Odds

Odds offered at on-line book maker William Hill:
It's no surpise that Premiership West Ham United are favourites for victory. However this makes the odds a lot more tempting for a Reading victory. Who knows - perhaps the Royals can sneak a single goal giant-killing victory? A tenner on a Reading win would be a nice earner if it came in.
Reading to win: 7/2
Draw: 12/5 (after 90 minutes)
West Ham to win: 4/6

Predictions A Reading win!
And why not?!
What do you think? Enter your Prediction now!
Opposition Sites

Knees Up Mother Brown:
http://www.westhamunited-fc.com/
Unofficial fanzine site.

Or you could try:
The Who - West Ham Online
http://www.westhamonline.com


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