The Royals return to the SCL, looking to continue their impressive home form under new boss Noel Hunt.
We’re back at the SCL for another game against the Seasiders.
Reading are currently sixth in the league, coming off the back of a draw against league leaders Wycombe Wanderers and then a poor game against Walsall, which meant we have been knocked out of the EFL Trophy, which, if I’m honest, I think is more of a good thing than a bad one.
Blackpool are currently 13th in the league, having pretty average form. Their last game - a 2-1 win against Shrewsbury Town - was over a week ago due to a postponement for their match against Rotherham United.
In this preview I will give unpick some stats that will then be analysed to help benefit the Royals, as well as looking at Steve Bruce and his major league change to help the Seasiders get back to the Championship, and my predicted lineup.
What? League One matchday 19
Season? 2024/25
Who? Blackpool
Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium
When? Saturday December 14
Time? 15:00
Opposition manager? Steve Bruce
I love looking through stats, especially ones that look to detriment the opponents. I will pick a few for each area on the pitch: some good, some bad, some horrific.
Firstly, let’s look at Blackpool’s home and away form.
Blackpool’s away form isn’t as bad as Reading’s but it is very average. Their biggest loss was a 5-1 defeat to Peterborough United; I’m hoping the Royals can do something similar as we played pretty well against Peterborough away from home ourselves.
On average, Blackpool concede 1.5 goals at home and 2 goals away from home. Plus they have only not scored in 4 matches, which goes alongside Reading’s 2 games, meaning it is almost guaranteed that there will be at least one goal in this game.
Blackpool have scored most of their goals, 7 (26.9%), between the 45th and 60th minutes. This is difficult for the Royals as we concede a lot of goals just after half-time.
Stats suggest though that Reading concede on average the most in the 39th minute. Similarly, Blackpool concede on average the most in the 38th minute - so keep an eye out for just before half-time as it’s the most likely point for there to be a goal in the match.
Reading concede on average 0.5 goals at home (4 in 8 games). This is the second-best record in the league, which is great considering how young our defence is.
Looking at all these stats, with all the goals scored and conceded, with all the stats on how well the players attack and defend… my betting is on a 0-0 draw.
Bruce has managed many times in the top flight with Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace being the most reputable teams. But what is he doing finding himself in League One?
Well the former Manchester United defender needed to almost have a redemption arc. After leaving Newcastle with a 27.4% win rate he joined West Bromwich Albion in the Championship, at which point they were sixth in the league. When he left eight months later, they were in 22nd place, their lowest league position in over 20 years.
With over a 23-month gap between jobs, he then joined Blackpool in early September. It got off to a great start with him winning his first four games and being named EFL League One manager of the month. However, since then, his form has fallen off a little bit. In the 14 games after that start he has only won twice, although they have both come in Blackpool’s last two league games.
With Bruce being a defender in his playing time, it is likely that his managerial style is slightly cautious. I haven’t watched much of Blackpool this season so I will be very intrigued to see how they play against the mighty Reading.
Bruce is an old-school English manager who plays a standard 4-4-2. A bit like how Ruben Selles was with Reading, he is very stuck to his ways and this could be another problem.
Selles started last season with his traditional 4-2-2-2. This didn’t work well for the Royals as we just didn’t have the players to work in that formation. It took him a few months to eventually switch to a 4-1-4-1 formation. Potentially if Bruce had the flexibility in his formation he would be able to achieve more with these Blackpool players.
With a horror show from David Button in mid-week, I am very excited to have Joel Pereira back in goal. However, Tom Norcott did very well when he came on to replace the experienced Button.
The defence will revert to usual with the second red card of the game in midweek going to Ashqar Ahmed. The back four will be Michael Craig, Amadou Mbengue, Tyler Bindon and Jeriel Dorsett.
With Reading having the best midfield trio in the league I am almost certain that Lewis Wing, Ben Elliott and Charlie Savage will continue their form at the weekend.
Similar to the midfield, our attack is one that has become feared in the most recent games, with the Berkshire Beckham Harvey Knibbs being nominated for player of the month this month (make sure to vote for him). With Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan still injured, Chem Campbell and Sam Smith will join Knibbs in the attack.
I am very surprised that there was no nomination for Campbell as he was phenomenal last month.
Score prediction: 2-1 Royals
Some small predictions for during the game include me thinking that all of the goals scored in the match will come in the first half, with a goal coming in the trusty 39th minute.
Good luck to those going to the game. I promise I will get to one soon to meet you guys for a chat, I do have a couple in mind.
Good luck to Noel Hunt and the team.
Come on you Royals!
