Former Manchester United teammates Paul Ince and Steve Bruce will meet on the touchline on Saturday when Reading host West Bromwich Albion in the Championship.
The two clubs have very little left to play for, with the Royals safe from relegation in 21st and 13th-placed Albion no longer in the playoff race.
Match preview
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In his first managerial job in over eight years, Paul Ince has steered Reading to Championship survival with 15 points from 12 matches.
The Royals lost 3-0 away at Hull City last weekend but still secured safety because Peterborough United were beaten by Nottingham Forest.
Defeat at the MKM Stadium was only a second loss in eight games for Reading, who have steadily picked up points under Ince – including three wins from six at home – to get themselves over the line.
Still only caretaker manager, Ince has remained coy on his long-term future in Berkshire and says that nothing will be addressed until after the final game of the season against Luton Town.
If he does stay beyond this summer, one of his first priorities must be sorting out Reading's leaky defence – they have conceded the most goals in the Championship this season (85).
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Steve Bruce was appointed at West Brom two weeks before Ince joined Reading, but he has had less joy in the dugout as the Baggies have picked up just 16 points from 15 games under his stewardship.
A 0-0 draw against Midlands neighbours Coventry City last weekend officially ended the club's top six hopes, but in truth that ship had sailed long ago.
Albion have won just one of their last four matches and that solitary victory over Blackpool only came courtesy of a 93rd-minute goal from Karlan Grant.
Only four teams in the Championship have picked up fewer points away from home this season than the Baggies (20), who have lost eight of their last 10 league games on the road.
However, they are unbeaten in their last five matches against Reading and won 1-0 in this season's reverse fixture at The Hawthorns courtesy of Callum Robinson's second-half goal.
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Team News
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Paul Ince has confirmed that Reading pair Tom Holmes and Femi Azeez will miss the rest of the season through illness and injury respectively.
Tom Ince suffered an ankle injury against Hull last weekend so will also be absent for the Royals, who already have John Swift, Scott Dann and Andy Rinomhota on the sidelines.
Alen Halilovic has returned to the matchday squad in recent weeks and could be handed an opportunity, while Dejan Tetek is back in training so could also feature.
Darnell Furlong is available again for West Brom after being suspended for their draw against Coventry last weekend.
Alex Mowatt has undergone groin surgery and is therefore sidelined for the final matches of the campaign.
Andy Carroll spent two months with Reading earlier in the season and scored two goals in eight appearances before moving to Albion in January.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Yiadom, Morrison, McIntyre, Rahman; Drinkwater, Dele-Bashiru; Halilovic, Laurent, Hoilett; Joao
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Button; Ajayi, O'Shea, Clarke; Furlong, Livermore, Molumby, Townsend; Gardner-Hickman; Carroll, Grant
We say: Reading 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Both teams are likely to have one eye on next season already so could decide to experiment in this game, which makes it tricky to call. The mood around the Reading camp is stronger at the moment, so we are backing the Royals to nick a one-goal win on home turf.
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 West Bromwich Albion win with a probability of 45.42%. A win for Reading had a probability of 29.17% and a draw had a probability of 25.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a West Bromwich Albion win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.18%) and 0-2 (7.87%). The likeliest Reading win was 1-0 (7.94%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.07%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 10.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for West Bromwich Albion in this match.
