Preview: Reading vs. Burnley - prediction, team news, lineups

League One outfit Reading invited Championship broadside Burnley to the Select Car Leasing Stadium for a third-round necktie successful the FA Cup connected Saturday afternoon.

The 2 teams quadrate disconnected for the archetypal clip since April 2023 erstwhile they played retired a goalless stalemate successful the 2nd tier.

Match preview

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Reading were incapable to widen their winning tally successful League One to 4 matches erstwhile they locked horns with Charlton Athletic past weekend, but they inactive managed to prime up a constituent from a 0-0 gully astatine The Valley.

Noel Hunt present boasts a grounds of 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats from 8 matches since replacing Ruben Selles arsenic caput coach, and helium sees his Royals broadside sitting sixth successful the League One table, 3 points wide of seventh-placed Stockport County who person played a crippled more.

Amidst ongoing uncertainty implicit the club's ownership status, Reading person their eyes connected promotion from the 3rd tier, but they indispensable present displacement their absorption to the FA Cup and volition effort to advancement from the 3rd circular for conscionable the 4th clip successful the past 9 seasons.

The Royals, who were knocked retired by non-league Eastleigh successful circular 2 past season, required other clip to bushed seventh-tier outfit Harborough Town 5-3 successful an enthralling second-round necktie astatine the opening of December, a period aft beating League Two broadside Fleetwood Town 2-0 successful circular one.

Reading volition invited a 3rd successive location necktie this weekend, arsenic they person won 10 of their past 14 FA Cup games connected location soil, including each of their past four. However, the Royals person lone precocious from 2 of their past 9 FA Cup ties against teams from a higher division.

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Since losing 1-0 astatine Millwall connected November 3, Burnley person enactment unneurotic a 13-game unbeaten tally successful the Championship, accumulating 29 points successful the process to boost their promotion propulsion and rubric credentials.

The Clarets, who person not conceded a azygous extremity for implicit 360 minutes, followed up back-to-back 0-0 draws with Middlesbrough and Stoke City with a slender 1-0 triumph implicit East Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers past weekend, courtesy of a second-half onslaught from Zian Flemming.

Scott Parker has hailed Burnley's "sensational" antiaircraft resilience - with a Championship-low 9 goals conceded successful 26 games - and helium was "satisfied" with his team's derby occurrence astatine Ewood Park which has helped them move to wrong 1 constituent of leaders Leeds United.

Tricky encounters with promotion rivals Sunderland and Leeds are connected the skyline for Burnley, but their contiguous absorption is connected the FA Cup arsenic they bid to debar suffering successive third-round eliminations for the archetypal clip since a tally of 4 betwixt 2012 and 2015.

Success connected Saturday is not a fixed for Burnley, though, arsenic they person mislaid their past 2 FA Cup meetings with Reading, portion they person lone won 1 of their past 20 distant games with the Royals, drafting 9 and losing 10 successful each competitions.

Reading FA Cup form:

Reading signifier (all competitions):

Burnley signifier (all competitions):

Team News

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Reading's Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Jeriel Dorsett, Andy Yiadom, Adrian Akande and Michael Craig person each returned to grooming this week, the second taking portion successful partial sessions, but Saturday's crippled is acceptable to travel excessively soon for the quintet, portion Mamadi Camara is simply a mates of weeks distant from returning to first-team action.

Hunt volition measurement up whether to callback goalkeeper David Button, who started successful the erstwhile 2 rounds, of instrumentality with first-choice shot-stopper Joel Pereira betwixt the sticks.

Attacking midfielder Harvey Knibbs and striker Sam Smith person been 2 standout performers for the Royals this season, scoring a combined 19 goals successful each competitions, and they are some expected to beryllium named successful the starting lineup.

As for Burnley, Jordan Beyer, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei and Mike Tresor each stay sidelined arsenic they proceed to retrieve from injury, portion Hannibal Mejbri volition service the 2nd of a three-game ban.

However, Manuel Benson and Nathan Redmond person some returned to grooming this week, the second of whom has not played since January past year, and they whitethorn person an extracurricular accidental of featuring successful immoderate capableness this weekend.

New signing Oliver Sonne is present disposable to marque his Clarets debut and the Danish right-back is acceptable to conflict with Connor Roberts for a commencement astatine right-back.

Reading imaginable starting lineup:
Button; Mbengue, Dean, Bindon, Kanu; Savage, Wing, Knibbs; Abrefa, Smith, Garcia

Burnley imaginable starting lineup:
Hladky; Sonne, Egan, Worrall, Pires; Cullen, Laurent; Koleosho, Brownhill, Anthony; Foster

We say: Reading 1-2 Burnley

Both teams volition fancy their chances of occurrence connected Saturday, but Burnley volition beryllium regarded arsenic favourites, adjacent though their distant grounds astatine Reading leaves small to beryllium desired, and they should find a mode to borderline past their League One counterparts, adjacent if Parker opts to marque changes to his lineup.

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