Reading will be hoping to move off the bottom of the League One table for the first time this season when they head to The Croud Meadow to take on Shrewsbury Town on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts are currently in 19th place in the league standings, having taken 17 points from 16 matches this season, while the visitors are at the foot of the table and staring at the possibility of back-to-back relegations.

Match preview

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While Shrewsbury Town booked their place in the second round of the FA Cup last weekend by overcoming Colchester United 3-2 at home, they now need to find the same type of form in the league.

The Shrews come into this match off the back of a 2-0 loss to Bolton Wanderers in midweek, which marked their third consecutive league loss, while they also failed to score a single goal in any of those matches.

In fact, over the course of the current league campaign, the Salopians have only found the back of the net on seven occasions, leaving them with the second-worst attacking record in the division behind second-bottom Cheltenham.

As a result, the hosts find themselves looking nervously over their shoulders with just three points separating them from Carlisle United, who are the first side below the dreaded dotted line.

Still, with the league table being fairly compact at present, Matthew Taylor's side could move up at least three places with a win here, provided that a few other results go their way as well.

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Meanwhile, Reading have a mountain to climb to avoid the drop this season as they will need to come from last place and a four-point docking, which they received for financial issues.

Even without the points reduction, though, the Royals would still only be on 11 points, which would have seen them one spot better off but still firmly set in the bottom four after 15 matches in the season.

Following a 3-2 victory over MK Dons in the FA Cup first round last weekend, the visitors recorded a 1-1 draw against Bristol Rovers in midweek, with Sam Smith scoring in the first half before Chris Martin denied them their first win since mid-August with a goal in the second period.

Ruben Selles's side are now on an eight-match winless run in the league, including six losses and two draws, while they have failed to earn a single point on the road, losing seven in a row coming into this one.

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The latest injury concern for the hosts is Hull City loanee Brandon Fleming, who is set for a spell on the sideline after the club revealed that the defender's ankle injury is worse than originally expected and may require surgery following a final assessment.

Fleming joins an already fairly lengthy list of casualties that include Morgan Feeney, George Nurse, Ryan Finnigan, and Kieran Phillips, while Marko Marosi has not returned to training after being forced off against Bolton in midweek.

In the opposite dugout, Selles is expected to remain without Coniah Boyce-Clarke, Tom McIntyre, and Ovie Ejaria due to injuries for this match and the foreseeable future.

Amadou Salif Mbengue was shown a straight red in the dying moments against Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago and will serve the second game of his three-match ban in this one.

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Burgoyne; Flanagan, Anderson, Sraha, Benning; Perry, Bennett, Winchester, Shipley, Bayliss; Udoh

Reading possible starting lineup:
Button; Yiadom, Dean, Bindon, Guinness-Walker; Wing, Craig, Savage; Knibbs, Smith, Azeez

We say: Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Reading

While Reading have managed to avoid defeat in their last two matches in all competitions, they have not been able to record a single point in an away match this term. They now face an opponent that have been fairly good in defence on their home patch despite not carrying much threat at the other end of the pitch. We are backing a narrow home win in this one.


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