The Royals are thriving at the moment, playing some good football. Winning 3-1 against a tough Blackpool side was a statement, showing Reading can and will be up there this season.
Jack Marriott is on form too, with as Kyreece Lisbie and George Earthy also playing very well, and they are looking like a proper team again.
Cambridge United have also started strongly with two wins, two draws and one loss in their five games this season, with their most recent match being a 2-2 draw to Burton Albion.
They
haven’t scored many goals but haven’t conceded many either, with most games ending something to one this season. They are however yet to keep a clean sheet, which is something they will like to work on.
Saturday, September 12 at 3pm will see the Cledara Abbey Stadium play host to the Royals. The stadium holds 10,847, with the weather looking nice at around 23 degrees.
Ollie Yates will be the referee. He averages five yellow cards and 23.3 fouls a game. The last time he refereed a game for Reading, he showed a whopping eight yellow cards.
In terms of head-to-head, the Royals are up three to one in recent years, with Reading actually beating Cambridge in their last three meetings, scoring at least three goals each time.
The last matchup saw ex-Cambridge attacker Harvey Knibbs score a brace alongside another ex-Cambridge player, Sam Smith, who grabbed the third in a 3-1 win. Current Royal Josh Stokes played in that game against Reading, so could be one to look out for against his former club.
In this preview I will look at the opposition and who can be important in the game, and I will give my predictions.
Cambridge
The hosts are a tricky side to play against, with their 3-4-2-1 formation solid defensively.
This year’s stand-out player for the home side has been Ben Knight, scoring two goals and averaging a very respectable 7.07 rating from WhoScored in this season’s games so far. Comparing him to other attacking midfielders this season, he is in the top 91% for goals and shot attempts.
Cambridge have conceded six goals this season, scoring seven in the process. They are yet to keep a clean sheet and, against a high-scoring Reading side, I doubt they will again in this one.
Cambridge aren’t a possession-based team – they are more of a route-one counter-attacking side with their quick forwards running through gaps left in the defence.
In the previous game against Burton, they were ‘out statted’ in every aspect except touches in the opposition box, where they had more than double what the Brewers had (35 to 17).
Out of their three shots on target, they scored two of them, with Gassan Ahadme getting both. It was a late goal from Burton that saw the game end in a draw, but neither team looked like they deserved the victory.
Cambridge are hard to break down, but I think George Earthy can play a big part in this game. His off-the-ball forward runs are so important to the team, with him distracting players and pulling them out of position for Marriott to find the space. I think he will be the key to us breaking the deadlock.
I also see Jacob Brown once again coming off the bench to score late on.
My predictions
Joel Pereira will be in goal.
Udoka Godwin-Malife, Paudie O’Connor, Benn Ward and Haydon Roberts will be the back line.
Lewis Wing and Andy Rinomhota will continue to play as the holding midfielders.
Kyreece Lisbie, Earthy and Daniel Kyerewaa will be the attacking three.
Marriott will be the lone striker up front.
Score prediction: 3-1 Royals
Good luck to those going to the game!
Come on you Royals!
