Sheffield United will look to put an end to a four-game league winless run on Tuesday, when they travel south to take on Reading.
The Blades remain 17th in the Championship table after a draw with Coventry City on Saturday, while their hosts were involved in a share of the spoils with Nottingham Forest at home at the weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following an impressive run of results in September, Reading's fortunes took a sharp dip before the recent international break, as Veljko Paunovic's men fell to four consecutive defeats.
In those games, the Royals conceded eight goals and scored just two at the other end, as they were toppled by Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Bournemouth and Millwall, triggering a quick drop towards the bottom end of the division.
As a result, they now possess one of the league's worst defensive records, with only Cardiff City and newly-promoted Peterborough United shipping more goals than their 29, but Paunovic's men did manage to arrest their slump.
In the final game before the recent break, a second-half Jahmari Clarke brace saw them overturn a deficit to pick up a vital away win over Birmingham City, before they returned to action on Saturday with a 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest, as Scott Dann swept in an equaliser.
Now sitting 19th in the English second tier, the Royals will look to make it three games without a defeat on Tuesday, when they welcome Sheffield United to the Madejski Stadium.
© Reuters
After their relegation from the Premier League and the summer appointment of Slavisa Jokanovic, Tuesday's visitors have struggled to kick into gear in the Championship, having won just five of their 18 league games this term.
The Blades now head into the trip in a run of four games without a win, as a narrow victory over strugglers Barnsley was firstly followed by a defeat at home to newly-promoted Blackpool.
Jokanovic's men then earned a point from a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, before Rhian Brewster's early goal against Blackburn Rovers was overshadowed with the hosts eventually winning 3-1 at Ewood Park.
The Bramall Lane outfit returned to home soil after the international break on Saturday, and they were involved in a share of the spoils after a goalless draw with high-flying Coventry City, potentially, at least, giving the Serbian boss some confidence in his defensive unit having conceded 26 goals in the first 15 games.
They will hope to put their poor run behind them and kickstart a winning run on Tuesday but will know they have to arrest a major long-term slump in confidence in South Yorkshire.
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Reading have an unenviable list of injuries to contend with, as Jahmari Clarke, Junior Hoilett, Yakou Meite, Lucas Joao, Femi Azeez and Alen Halilovic are all missing from the attacking line, while defenders Tom McIntyre and Michael Morrison and midfielder Andy Rinomhota will also continue spells on the sidelines.
Given those absences, George Puscas should continue to lead the line, while the signing of experienced forward Andy Carroll offers competition, with winger Ovie Ejaria also bringing quality in the final third.
John Swift, who was previously targeted by Tuesday's opponents during their spell in the Premier League, has been the star man for the Royals so far this term, netting eight goals and providing eight assists in 18 appearances.
Sheffield United could remain without goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who missed out through injury at the weekend, but Wes Foderingham impressed with a clean sheet and continues to provide adequate cover between the sticks.
Upon the return of centre-back Ben Davies, the Blades switched to a back three of Saturday, and Jokanovic should again deploy Chris Basham, John Egan and Davies as a defensive unit.
Experienced midfielder Ollie Norwood will also return from a suspension on Tuesday, and he could take a spot back in the centre at the expense of Conor Hourihane, while Lys Mousset and Rhian Brewster will both be pushing for starts in the front line after they were on the bench last time out.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Southwood; Holmes, Moore, Dann, Rahman; Drinkwater, Laurent; Yiadom, Swift, Ejaria; Puscas
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Davies; Bogle, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Gibbs-White, Sharp, Brewster
We say: Reading 1-1 Sheffield United
Given the form of the two sides, we cannot quite pick a winner on Tuesday and instead expect a second straight draw for each team.
The Blades should be somewhat positive after a solid home showing on Saturday but have struggled to consistently put sides to the sword this term, and we see them leaving with a point.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sheffield United win with a probability of 43.42%. A win for Reading had a probability of 30.11% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield United win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.17%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.85%) and 0-2 (7.87%). The likeliest Reading win was 1-0 (8.94%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.58%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Sheffield United in this match.
