16 December 2016
By Hob Nob Anyone?
Reading hit the road again this weekend for the trip to Blackburn Rovers - and will be hoping to avoid a third consecutive away defeat to nil. Reading's last two away games have seen a 0-5 stuffing at Fulham and a 0-2 reverse at Leeds United. Those defeats have been surrounded by home wins to keep Reading in the top three in the Championship. Blackburn should give a different type of challenge to the Royals as they remain in the bottom three - despite last months 1-0 away win over league leaders Newcastle. Since then Rovers have picked up just a point but suffered narrow 2-3 defeats at the hands of Preston and second placed Brighton. The season may have been tough on Blackburn so far but they are certainly showing signs of recovery as they look to climb out of the bottom three before the end of the year.
The home side have a defensive crisis going on with four central defenders ruled out. Charlie Mulgrew, Tommie Hoban and Elliott Ward are likely to miss out through injury and Gordon Greer is suspended for the visit of Reading. Reading will be without Danny Williams as he completes his suspension and John Swift is not yet ready to return to action. That means Jaap Stam is likely to keep a similar line up to the midweek defeat at Leeds.
The Royals dominated possession against Leeds on Tuesday but failed to create much up front, leading the home fans to label Stam's side as "boring". That label is unlikely to stop Stam adopting a similar approach this Saturday after he claimed Reading had played well at Elland Road and deserved something from the game. Reading will be hoping for possession football with an end product to improve their record away from the Madejski Stadium.
Reading have won just once against Blackburn in their last ten attempts. That win came last season, almost exactly a year ago, when Danny Williams scored the only goal of the game at the Madejski Stadium. With recent history, and Reading's recent away results, Blackburn are favourites for the win:
| DATE | COMPETITION | OPPOSITION | SCORE | REPORT |
| 07 May 2016 | Championship | Blackburn (Away) | L: 1-3 | Read report... |
| 20 December 2015 | Championship | Blackburn (HOME) | W: 1-0 | Read report... |
| 11 April 2015 | Championship | Blackburn (HOME) | D: 0-0 | Read report... |
| 01 November 2014 | Championship | Blackburn (Away) | L: 1-3 | Read report... |
| 22 February 2014 | Championship | Blackburn (HOME) | L: 0-1 | Read report... |
| 23 November 2013 | Championship | Blackburn (Away) | D: 0-0 | Read report... |
| 29 March 2008 | Premiership | Blackburn (HOME) | D: 0-0 | Read report... |
| 20 October 2007 | Premiership | Blackburn (Away) | L: 2-4 | Read report... |
| 13 May 2007 | Premiership | Blackburn (Away) | D: 3-3 | Read report... |
| 16 December 2006 | Premiership | Blackburn (HOME) | L: 1-2 | Read report... |
| Reading and Blackburn - Head to head record (since August 1994) | |
| Games Between Reading and Blackburn | 10 |
| Reading Wins | 1 |
| Blackburn Wins | 5 |
| Draws | 4 |
| Reading Goals | 9 |
| Blackburn Goals | 16 |
| Average Goals Per Game | 2.5 |
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