News and Views
Reading Face Nineteenth Placed Birmingham
12 December 2014
By Hob Nob Anyone?
Reading face another game against opposition below them in the Championship as they travel to Birmingham City this weekend.
City are three points behind Reading in 19th place and only a huge win for them at St. Andrews would see them move ahead of the Royals.
Birmingham have had a poor season so far but had been on a small revival until that hit the buffers when they lost 1-0 to Blackpool last weekend. That was their first
defeat in six matches, while Reading have only won once in the last four attempts. Out of the last 14 matches in all competitions we have won only three times and just once away from home.
Reading limped to a disappointing 0-0 home draw against Bolton last weekend. The first half was very uneventful and although Reading might have scored a winner in the
second half, and had a goal ruled out for off-side, another low crowd at the Madejski Stadium remained very subdued. There's not much Christmas cheer at Reading as Reading appear unable to escape a midtable position with limited funds to be available before the next transfer window closes. Reading's inconsistancy seems unending and it's difficult to predict what might happen at Birmingham against a team that struggles at home. Pavel Pogrebnyak, Anton Ferdinand and Jamie Mackie are all likely to miss the game and Hal Robson-Kanu is also a doubt.
Recent history against Birmingham is strongly in our favour - we've won six out of our last nine encounters. Last season Reading collected six points from Birmingham with a 2-0 win at home and a 2-1 at their place. The 2-1 win last March saw Jobi McAnuff score a goal in each half to seal the victory. Back then Reading were sixth in the table and still had hopes of promotion - our ambitions seem much more limited this time around.
Share this article: