In a potential promotion 'six-pointer', Reading are set to host Mansfield Town at Select Car Leasing Stadium on Sunday in League One.
The Royals ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Northampton Town on Boxing Day, while the Stags have won their last two and are looking to make it three in a row this weekend.
Match preview
Reading manager Noel Hunt was appointed on December 6 after former boss Ruben Selles left to join Championship Hull City.
Since Hunt's appointment, the Royals have won once, drawn once and lost twice in the league, as well as being eliminated from the EFL Trophy by League Two Walsall, and given that they had won four of the previous five games, it is fair to say that the new chief has had a difficult time so far.
However, Reading are still sixth in League One, and remain in the playoff spots having picked up 34 points from their 21 games to date.
Last time out, Hunt's side picked up their first win under the new manager's leadership with a dominant display at home against struggling Northampton, who have also appointed a new boss this month.
In that Boxing Day thrashing, Harvey Knibbs and Sam Smith both scored their eighth goals of the season to give Reading a two-goal lead at the interval, before Charlie Savage and Mamadi Camari netted in the second half to render Tom Eaves' goal a mere consolation.
This weekend, the Royals will be hoping that their victory last time out was the start of a new vein of form that can make their position in the playoff spots more secure, especially considering that they are just one point above seventh-placed Barnsley and three ahead of Sunday's opponents.
Meanwhile, Nigel Clough's Mansfield are eighth in League One, having earned 31 points from their 20 games this season.
With two games in hand on their hosts, Sunday's match represents a real chance for the Stags to gain ground on the playoff spots as they search for promotion at the first time of asking after being promoted from League Two last term.
Most recently, Clough's side impressed in a 3-0 away win over Darren Ferguson's Peterborough United, and that result meant that Mansfield picked up a commendable seven points from their last three league games.
This form has carried the Stags two places up the table, and follows a stretch of five consecutive league losses between early November and December that saw them in 10th after their December 7 defeat against Huddersfield Town.
On Sunday, Mansfield will be hoping to channel their early-season form by winning three in a row for the first time since September, well aware that victory would move them above their opponents in the standings and potentially into the playoff spots thanks to their marginally superior goal difference.
Team News
Reading will have centre-back Louie Holzman available after he served his red card suspension in the win over Northampton, though he is likely to remain on the bench as regular starter Amadou Mbenge returned from a concussion to feature against the Cobblers.
Ahead of the January transfer window, striker Sam Smith shared that he is uncertain of his future at the club when he aired his frustrations about club owner Dai Yongge's transfer policies.
The forward said that Reading players have been sold in the winter against their wishes and that he fears the same may happen again this season, though for now he is likely to be selected by boss Hunt to play alongside Chem Campbell and Mamadi Camara in the front line.
As for Mansfield, striker Will Evans, who delivered a late Christmas present to Stags fans with a brace against Peterborough, is set to start with Lucas Akins up top once again.
Additionally, Keanu Baccus received personal praise from boss Clough in the media after producing two assists from set pieces in the dominant win over the Posh and is likely to be joined in midfield by Aaron Lewis and Louis Reed this weekend.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Pereira; Craig, Mbenge, Bindon, Kanu; Knibbs, Wing, Savage; Campbell, Smith, Camara
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Bowery, Oshilaja, Cargill; Reed; Hewitt, Baccus, Lewis, Blake-Tracy; Evans, Akins
We say: Reading 1-2 Mansfield Town
Reading will be out to prove that they have turned a corner under new boss Hunt following their Boxing Day win.
However, having won their last two games, Mansfield look poised to seize the opportunity to leapfrog their hosts with a win on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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