When : Sunday 29th December, 3pm
Where : Deepdale, Preston, PR1 6RU
Capacity : 23,404
Away Stand : Bill Shankly Kop
What might I see in the area : Dourness
Ey oop! It’s Lancashire next for a very very long away trek to Preston. And it’s a Sunday game, can’t remember the last time Reading played an FL fixture on a Sunday without it being on the telly or it being Boxing Day but no doubt it wasn’t as long ago as you’d think.
Preston are playing well and are challenging at the top end of the table again. While their away record is a little suspect their home record is really rather good with 9 wins and 3 draws from 13 league outings. Only WBA have beaten them on their own patch in the league and WBA are the only side Preston have failed to score a league goal against at home so far.
That said Preston have only managed 2 wins in their last 9 but are unbeaten in 5 including a draw at Leeds last time out so this really isn’t going to be very easy.
Gallagher, Johnson and Barkhuizen are the leading scorers for the lilywhites though Johnson is expected to miss the game through injury. Patrick Bauer is expected to return after illness.
Reading will miss Andy Yiadom while Sam Baldock is once again crocked, this time with a groin problem
Referee
Jarred Gillett
Previously
31 Aug 19 > Reading 0-2 Charlton Athletic
Historically
It took 9 visits to Deepdale to get a first win and there have only been 5 for Reading in the total 28 league games played there to date. In that time Preston have managed 18 home victories very much setting a low expectation for Reading in this fixture. So that’s now one home victory for every goal Preston scored in that 18-0 cup game back in the 1890s. Still they pulled off a miracle result last season so anything is possible....
How to follow the game
- Get a ticket and travel to Deepdale
- 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 (presuming you can get the commentary working at all)
- BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)