Derby v Reading Preview

Posted on | April 20, 2009 | No Comments

Both of these clubs are in pretty dire form at the moment yet only one has anything left to play for. Derby may be in the lowly position of 18th, but their point’s tally of 51 will probably be enough to keep them in the division as they prepare for next season. Reading on the other hand must be getting twitchy, with the Royals dropping down into the final play off position with a cushion of just three points.

Nigel Clough probably hasn’t exactly had the effect he wanted in his short time at Derby, with the Rams making very little improvement since his arrival in January. He’s managed to make them avoid the drop, although it’s been far from convincing and the Pride Park faithful will just be hoping he improves their fortunes for next season. The Rams have just won once in their last eight and considering the fact they were only relegated from the top flight last season, that’s a miserable statistic. Still, when the summer comes Clough will have a full pre-season to fine tune his new squad and aim to guide them much higher than their current position.

Reading’s season is going downhill – and fast. It wasn’t so long ago that the Royals looked absolute certainties for the play offs, with many tipping them to make the automatic positions. However, recent form has been horrific and with just one win in their last nine, it’s no wonder they’re on the verge of dropping out of the top six. Of course, their future is still completely in their own hands and they do have three games left to play, whereas a lot of their rivals only have the two. With that, you can only imagine them staying in the top six positions, although they certainly won’t be entering the play off stages with any sort of form under their belt and that will worry Steve Coppell.

As for team news, Nigel Clough could have two strikers coming back into the reckoning as Luke Varney returns to the squad after completing a loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday while Chris Porter looks set to make a comeback from a hip injury. However, there is still a slight doubt over Stephen Pearson who is struggling with a knee problem. Reading have been given a huge boost though with the news that top scorer Kevin Doyle will return to the fold after recovering from a knee issue. Elsewhere, James Harper is still out, while Steve Coppell has a slight doubt over Noel Hunt who is struggling with an ankle problem.

Reading may be in dire form, but Derby aren’t performing much better either. With that and with the situation bordering on desperate for the Royals, we think they’ll take the points in this one with a 1-0 win.

Related posts:

1. Reading v Derby Preview
2. Reading v Southampton Preview
3. Coventry v Reading Preview
4. Reading v Barnsley Preview
5. Reading v Blackpool Preview

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