Reading kick-start life in League One following their relegation last season when they host Peterborough United on Saturday.

The visitors missed out on promotion in dramatic fashion after being knocked out by Sheffield Wednesday in the League One playoffs, but they will be looking to be an immediate threat once again.

Match preview

Reading had a difficult 2022-23 campaign which resulted in relegation, with this season now working as the start of a rebuilding process for the club.

The Royals struggled defensively in the Championship, conceding 68 times, which was the second-worst record in the division, with only Blackpool letting in more goals.

Unfortunately for Ruben Selles, that problem does not appear to have fixed itself considering they have conceded 13 goals across their five pre-season matches.

The confidence appears to still be rocked in the Reading squad as the summer break did not fix their issues, with the team having lost every single pre-season match that they have played.

It means that the Royals do not head into this game with much confidence as Selles continues his search to try and win his first match since taking charge of the club.

Off-the-field issues continue to dominate the news surrounding Reading as well, with a fan protest being planned for the opening game of the season.

For the visitors, they will simply be attempting to block out all of the noise and refocus on earning promotion after missing out via the playoffs last season.

The Posh had one foot in the final after beating Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in the first leg of the semi-final match only for the West Yorkshire club to come back and knock them out via a penalty shootout.

However, Peterborough United should have plenty of confidence following a strong campaign to once again push toward the top of the table, ideally earning an automatic spot this time around.

Pre-season has seen mixed results for the Posh, but they did wrap things up with an important 3-2 win over Birmingham City which should have boosted the confidence of the squad.

Team News

Reading have lost several key players following relegation with Tom Ince and George Puscas both having departed which is something that the team needs to adapt to.

However, there are still experienced heads that the Royals can call upon with Andy Carroll likely to be leading the line with his aerial threat set to be important this season.

Harrison Burrows will be playing with something to prove this weekend after Darren Ferguson named him the new vice-captain, adding further responsibility to him.

Ephron Mason-Clark was named the club captain and is also expected to feature in this match as the Posh aim for the perfect start to the campaign.

There is set to be a battle regarding who starts in goal for the visitors with Fynn Talley and Nicholas Bilokapic both joining the club during the summer months.

Reading possible starting lineup:
Bouzanis; Abbey, Guiness-Walker, Holmes, McIntyre; Abrefa, Azeez, Ehibhatiomhan, Hutchinson; Carroll, Abdul-Salam

Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Bilokapic; Burrows, Edwards, Crichlow, Clarke-Harris; Mason-Clark, Poku, Randall, Kyprianou; Collins, Kioso

We say: Reading 0-3 Peterborough United

Reading might have the home advantage in this game, but the Royals have been struggling desperately as of late, and the lack of confidence in the team has been clear to see during pre-season.

On the other hand, the visitors should be full of momentum and a desire to go one step further than last season and clinch promotion, which should lead to them starting the campaign with three points.

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