Before the start of the season, we would have said that this will be the derby of the round and a very uncertain duel, but now we must point out that only one of these two teams have lived up to the expectations, the hosts. Preston are doing great and they deserve the place at the top of the standings, while Reading have only one win from the start of the season. You can suppose the outcome here…

Poor start of the season and detailed review of the team have made manager Brendan Rodgers and president John Madejsky to reinforce the squad with some loan signings, thus Reading are expected to raise their form. Even though Doncaster are not a bad side, they are unlikely to get anything from this game.

Last year’s play-offs semifinalist and finalist meet, after changing their teams a lot, which especially applies to Reading. While the Royals are still getting used to the new manager, with the problems of a young and inefficient team, ambitious and reinforced Blades are after the very top…

Another tough rival for Newcastle United that are in the worst possible situation. In the days when they need to focus on their future, Magpies have to fight WBA (barely reached a draw) and now Reading. Even besides the problems in the club, the atmosphere in the team in positive, but home ground might be a problem here.

Magpies in danger… –

Newcastle United got away with it with a draw in West Brom (1:1) in Coca Cola Championship opening round. The Magpies held on the pressure of the hosts to save a point in the second half and reserve keeper, young Tim Krul saved four clear-cut chances. Krul stepped in after the break to replace injured Steve Harper and all of the goals were scored in the first half. Home side took the lead through Shelton Martis (who had another excellent chance but missed it) and the visitors pulled one back through Damien Duff.

Even though they were expected to underperform because of the situation in the club, Newcastle showed certain team and fighting spirit and perhaps that is why they deserved a point on Championship opening. The question is how long the positive mood will last, having in mind that the future of the club is uncertain. Precisely that is why this is not a good time for another derby.

Last season this match would have been considered a cat and mice play but now the situation is completely different. Reading are going through changes after the failure in the play-offs last season, while Forest are reinforced and they aim at top 6. We will see a tough and uncertain match at Madejski…

It seems that this is quite a clear situation where a team that secured a midtable spot and won’t move up or down, is hosting one of the automatic promotion contenders. But it is not quite so… Reading are out of form, and relaxed Coventry might be a hard nut to crack.

Crystal Palace are definitely saying goodbye to their play-offs chances and they are won’t have motivation to win this game. Injuries are their problem at the moment when Reading regained their form with a win in Doncaster and threaten to take over second place from Birmingham.

In spite of the struggling game in Plymouth, Reading are slowly handling the crisis, so hosting the game against poor and already ruled out Charlton at Madejsky stadium will be an excellent opportunity for home side scorers, Noel Hunt and Kevin Doyle to get back in form. A banker…

The win in Sheffield over Wednesday could be a turning point for Reading that will get them back on the winning track. Plymouth woke up and they started recording great results after a long break but their problem is an average squad that can’t guarantee consistency. That is why visitors stand some chance…

Inspired and attack-minded Sheffield Wednesday had nothing to lose in Burnley and maybe that is why they recorded a convincing win in that match. They will now host one of the candidates for promotion but also a team that are in a poor form and have a lot of problems in scoring department. The hosts will once again be under no pressure and that can be the advantage and they have good chance to get something out of this match.