Having already assured themselves of top-two finishes in their EFL Trophy group, Reading and Arsenal Under-21s will engage in a straight shootout for first place in Tuesday's Southern section Group G battle.
The Royals have amassed six points from a possible six to lead the way at the summit and must simply avoid defeat against the Gunners' academy prospects to sail through to round two as group winners.
Match preview
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Making their first foray into the EFL Trophy in 30 years - when their inaugural appearance in the 1993-94 tournament ended with a last-16 loss to Fulham - Reading can take their foot off the gas a little on Tuesday thanks to a flawless start in Group F.
Fresh from their disheartening demotion from the Championship, Reading inflicted a 9-0 humiliation onto Exeter City on the opening matchday before also putting five unanswered goals past Swindon Town, with Harvey Knibbs taking home the match ball courtesy of a 49-minute hat-trick.
It will come as no surprise to learn that Reading's tally of 14 goals is by far and away the best attacking record in this year's EFL Trophy, while they are one of only two sides yet to have their defence breached in the group phase, alongside Wycombe Wanderers.
Cup competitions have provided a welcome escape for Ruben Selles's troops, who also overcame Milton Keynes Dons 3-2 in the first round of the FA Cup but suffered a calamitous collapse in Saturday's League One clash with Shrewsbury Town, racing into a 2-0 lead only to lost 3-2 owing to a pair of injury-time goals.
Now without a win in nine straight third-tier matches, Reading are entrenched in 24th place and would still be in the relegation zone even without their four-point deduction, so a few Royals fans may have breathed a sigh of relief to hear of the postponement of next weekend's clash with Derby County due to international call-ups.
Not since the 2019-20 season have Arsenal's Under-21s been eliminated from EFL Trophy contention at the first hurdle and Mehmet Ali's troops also have their destiny in their own hands as they gear up for a short trip to the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Two points game the Gunners' way on their opening showdown versus Swindon, who held Ali's team to a 2-2 draw before Arsenal clinched the bonus point thanks to a 5-4 penalty-shootout victory, before Exeter's leaky defence came under constant siege once again in a 5-0 loss to the North London troupe.
A draw and penalty-shootout success would draw Arsenal level on points with Reading, but the Royals' superior goal difference would still see them qualify as group winners in that scenario, so the visitors must get the better of their League One counterparts to pip them to top spot on Tuesday night.
While Reading cannot buy a win in the third tier, Arsenal are now unbeaten in five straight Premier League 2 matches on account of a pulsating 3-3 draw with Manchester City's Under-21s on Friday, coming from two goals down to share the spoils with Brian Barr-Murphy's outfit.
There was still a palpable sense of disappointment about that result, though, as the Gunners led 3-2 before substitute Jacob Wright came up with an 87th-minute leveller, leaving Arsenal third in the rankings and seven points behind perfect leaders Tottenham Hotspur.
Team News
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Reading have a lost a host of international players to call-ups ahead of the EFL Trophy, as Cameroon's Ben Elliott, Montserrat's Jeriel Dorsett, Zimbabwe's Tivonge Rushesha and New Zealand's Tyler Bindon are all representing their senior teams.
In addition, Basil Tuma, Dominic Ballard, Kelvin Abrefa, Nelson Abbey, Jahmari Clarke, Coniah Boyce-Clarke and Amadou Mbengue are all turning out at youth level for their countries, but at the time of writing, the game is still set to go ahead as scheduled.
Ovie Ejaria has also been frozen out of Selles's group as he bids to return to form following an injury, while Tom Holmes, Mamadi Camara and Caylan Vickers are also in the infirmary, but Charlie Savage will return from suspension this week.
Similarly, Arsenal must also make do without a handful of players due to international commitments, including Ethan Nwaneri - the Premier League's youngest-ever player - as he prepares to represent England's Under-17s with Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Lino Sousa and Amario Cozier-Duberry will also be turning out for England's Under-19s, while highly-rated centre-back Reuell Walters has been named in the Under-20s, and Ismail Oulad M'Hand is set to play for Morocco at the same level.
Only left-back Elian Queseda - who has a back problem - should be out of contention through injury for Arsenal, who ought to hand a starting role to Seb Ferdinand after the 17-year-old's brace versus Exeter.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Button; Yiadom, Dean, Mola, Guinness-Walker; Azeez, Savage, Wing, Knibbs; Smith, Ehibhatiomhan
Arsenal Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Ejeheri; Heaven, Monlouis, Foran, Kacurri; Nichols, Gower, Rosiak; Ferdinand, Edwards, Sagoe Jr
We say: Reading 1-1 Arsenal Under-21s (Reading win on penalties)
With a plethora of star men from both clubs missing, a high-scoring classic should not be expected at the Madejski, although Arsenal still possess some effervescent attacking forces ready to make their presence felt.
For all of their League One troubles, Reading have had no problem breaching opposing backlines in Group F either, and we can picture the Royals coming out on top in the shootout following a closely-contested draw to advance as section winners.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
