Stats and info for Saturday's clash with the Royals (ko 3pm)
All-time results record (League, FA Cup and League Cup
| PLD | W | D | L | F | A | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOME | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 17 | 20 |
| AWAY | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 38 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 68 | 48 | 20 |
Interesting facts
Reading will host Albion for the first time in the top flight on Saturday.
Midfielder Hope Akpan, who signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Royals on Thursday, played against his new club for Crawley in last weekend’s FA third-round tie. Daniel Carrico, who joined from Sporting Lisbon on New Year’s Day, could also make his first appearance for the home side.
The Baggies have won 17 of their 29 league meetings with the Royals, with six draws and six defeats.
Shane Long returns to Reading for the first time since arriving at The Hawthorns on August 9, 2011 – while the Royals’ Shaun Cummings, Jason Roberts and Nicky Shorey could face their former club.
Long scored the winning goal the last time these two sides met at the Madejski Stadium when Reading overcame the Baggies 1-0 in an FA Cup tie in January 2011.
Last time out
HOME: Barclays Premier League, Saturday, September 22, 2012, Albion 1 (Lukaku 71) Reading 0
AWAY: npower Championship, Saturday, March, 27, 2010, Reading 1 (Sigurdsson 6) Albion 1 (Tamas 86)
Form guide (last six league matches)
ALBION: LDWWLL
READING: LLLDWL
Last league match line-ups
ALBION (v Fulham - home L 1-2): Foster; Jones, McAuley, Tamas, Ridgewell; Mulumbu, Brunt (Thorne 84); Fortune (Odemwingie 65), Morrison, Gera (Long 65); Lukaku. Subs not used: Myhill (gk), Jara Reyes, Dawson, Rosenberg.
READING: (v Tottenham – away L 1-3): Federici; Gunter, Pearce, Mariappa, Harte; Kebe, Karacan (Robson-Kanu 57), Leigertwood, Guthrie, McAnuff (Le Fondre 73); Pogrebnyak (Hunt 84). Subs not used: Taylor (gk), Morrison, Tabb, Cummings.
Last FA Cup line-ups
ALBION (v QPR – away D 1-1): Myhill; Jones, McAuley, Tamas, Ridgewell; Morrison, Thorne, Brunt, Gera (Fortune 21 (Thomas 45+3)); Long, Lukaku (Dawson 88). Subs not used: Foster (gk), Rosenberg, Jara Reyes, El Ghanassy.
READING (v Crawley – away W 1-3): Federici; Cummings, Pearce, Morrison, Harte; McCleary (Gunter 85), Karacan (Guthrie 59), Tabb, Robson-Kanu; Hunt, Le Fondre. Subs not used: Taylor (gk), Shorey, Mariappa, Church, Ugwu.
Reading injury news
Jason Roberts has been ruled out due to a hip injury. Mikele Leigertwood, who missed last week’s FA Cup third-round victory over Crawley with a knock, and Hal Robson-Kanu (knee) are both doubts. While goalkeeper Alex McCarthy is a long-term absentee due to a shoulder problem.
Ref watch
Kevin Friend will referee Saturday’s game. The Leicestershire official last oversaw the Baggies in their 1-0 home defeat by Stoke in December. Friend has dished out 70 yellow and two red cards in 19 games so far this season.
Betting
Selected odds from Bet Butler:
Reading to win: 2/1
Albion to win: 6/4
Draw: 23/10
Pavel Progrebnyak to score first goal: 6/1
. click here If you fancy a flutter on this game with the club's official online bookmaker,
Romelu Lukaku to score first goal: 6/1
Tickets
Tickets for this game have now sold out.
Listen to live match commentary on Albion Player
Can’t get to the Reading game? Tune into Albion Player’s live, full-match commentary from 2pm. To subscribe, click here.
Can’t get to the Reading game? Tune into Albion Player’s live, full-match commentary from 2pm. To subscribe, click here.
Follow our live matchday blog
Keep up to speed with all the matchday action and interact with fellow fans on our FREE blog from 2pm.
to join in the fun and post your comments?click hereSo, if you can’t make it to the game