Watford will hope to boost their chances of securing an automatic promotion spot to the Premier League when they host Reading in the Championship at the weekend.

The Hornets are one of four teams level on 66 points at the top of the table, but their goal difference means that they sit behind Bournemouth and Derby County.

Watford had to come from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out, extending their unbeaten run to four matches in the league.

Slavisa Jokanovic's side have struggled to keep clean sheets in recent weeks, preventing their opponents from scoring just three times in their last 10 outings, including in a 4-3 win over Bolton Wanderers last month.

For this match, Watford will be without Tommy Hoban, who is suspended after a red card last time out, but there are no new injury problems to trouble the manager, although Odion Ighalo will need a late fitness test.

Troy Deeney will surely continue up front, having scored in each of the team's last four matches, while Matej Vydra will also look to continue his strong run of form, having netted three of three.

The build-up to this match has been marred by the injuries sustained by a fan at Watford's previous fixture, which has resulted in a teenage supporter being arrested.

Meanwhile, Reading will be confident after ending a three-match winless run in the league with a 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this week.

The Royals have had less time to prepare for this fixture, having been in action midweek as a result of their FA Cup run, which saw them share a goalless draw with Bradford City in the quarter-finals last Saturday.

With the busy fixture list, Steve Clarke may be keen to rotate his squad, with new signing Zat Knight available after joining as a free agent.

Jure Travner was unable to play against Brighton with a knock and remains a doubt for the weekend, while Alex Pearce could be rested again after breaking his nose, but Pavel Pogrebnyak is in line to return to the starting lineup after dropping to the bench in midweek.

Watford edged a 1-0 win over Reading when the sides met at the Madejski Stadium in December, despite playing half the match down to 10 men in what was Clarke's first game in charge of the Royals.

Watford:

Form in Championship: WLWWWD
Form in all competitions: WLWWWD

Possible starting lineup: Gomes, Paredes, Angella, Cathcart, Murray, Guedioura, Watson, Tozser, Abdi, Deeney, Vydra

Reading:

Form in Championship: LWLLDW
Form in all competitions: WLLDDW

Possible starting lineup: Federici, Gunter, Knight, Hector, Chalobah, Akpan, Williams, Mackie, Robson-Kanu, Blackman, Pogrebnyak

Sports Mole says: 3-2

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