Form
Plymouth Argyle finished eighth in League One last season, two places and two points away from the playoffs. This season marks their second straight season in the third tier, having suffered relegation from the Championship in 2025, after a two-year stay.
They have had a strong start to the season, currently sitting fifth in the league, one place and one point ahead of Reading, having played an extra game.
Their recent form has been mixed, having picked up three wins and two losses in their last five
league matches. They come into this weekend’s fixture off the back of a 2-3 away win against Cambridge United over the weekend.
Reading claimed an impressive away victory on Boxing Day last season, beating the Pilgrims 1-4 at Home Park, before the sides played out a 2-2 draw at the Select Car Leasing Stadium back in March.
The boss
Tom Cleverley: Cleverley was appointed Plymouth head coach in June last year, taking over from Miron Muslic, who joined German side Schalke 04.
Cleverly had a 15-year career as a player, starting out at Manchester United before also playing for Everton and Watford, where he made 181 appearances. Cleverley retired while at the Hornets and went on to take a coaching role with their under-18 side.
He was named interim head coach in 2024 after Valerien Ismael’s sacking and was given the job permanently almost two months later. He guided Watford to 15th- and 14th-placed finishes in the Championship, before he was sacked in May last year.
Cleverley was only out of work for a month before Plymouth offered him the head coach role. The 37-year-old guided Plymouth to an eighth-placed finish in his first season and will be aiming for his side to fight for promotion this season.
Cleverley likes his sides to play out from the back and is a strong developer of players.
Squad
Nine players signed for Plymouth over the summer with seven joining permanently and two coming in on loan.
Transfer fees were paid for goalkeeper Murphy Cooper, who signed from Queens Park Rangers; defender Alex Mitchell, who joined from Charlton Athletic; and forward Will Evans, who signed from Mansfield Town.
The Pilgrims also completed the free transfers of goalkeeper James Storer, defenders Alex Hartridge and Wes Harding and midfielder Harvey White.
Their two loans were midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson and forward Oliver Irow, who joined on season-long deals from Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur.
Forward Owen Oseni and Michael Baidoo are both expected to miss this weekend’s game as they continue to recover from injury.
Expected setup
Formation: 3-4-3
Style: Structured, playing out from the back.
Lineup: Cooper, Mitchell, Pleguezuelo, Harding, Sorinola, Bakinson, White, MacKenzie, Amaechi, Evans, Pebble
Key player
7. Harvey White: Midfielder White joined Plymouth in the summer, signing on a free following the end of his contract at Stevenage.
He started his career in the youth setup at Tottenham and made his debut for the club in 2020, before going on to make a further two appearances. While at Spurs, White had loan spells in League One with Portsmouth and Derby County.
He joined Stevenage on a permanent deal in September 2023, where he spent three seasons, making over a century of appearances, scoring 11 goals.
The 25-year-old has also been capped by England at under-18 level.
He has started every league game for the Pilgrims so far this season, scoring two goals and creating two. White is a technical defensive midfielder with a strong range of passing.
One to watch
27. Aribim Pebble: Striker Pebble joined Plymouth in July last year, signing from Luton Town for an undisclosed fee.
He started his youth career in Canada and played first-team football for Calgary Foothills and Cavalry FC.
Pebble made the switch to Luton in 2022, but never made a first-team appearance for the Hatters, instead gaining experience in a number of loan spells. Those included stints at Grimsby Town, Bromley, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Southend United and Chesterfield.
Since signing for Plymouth, Pebble has almost averaged a goal every two games, having scored 26 goals in 57 appearances, with eight of those coming this season.
The 23-year-old is a hard-working striker who is a natural goalscorer.
