Coming off a 1-1 draw against Rotherham United, the Royals are very slowly climbing up the table under Leam Richardson. It is looking like they are finding their form and will be the side to beat in the next coming games.
However, there is one piece of the puzzle missing and that is an out-and-out striker. With Jack Marriott still injured and there seeming to be no like-for-like replacement, the Royals are relying on the midfield to step up and get the goals. Charlie Savage has been in fine form but he can’t do everything.
Blackpool are also looking to find some form with them currently sitting in the relegation zone, three points behind Reading. Their top goalscorer for the club is Ashley Fletcher, and he has scored fewer than Marriott, who has been injured for two months.
Something is going wrong at Blackpool and teams have started to figure that out. However, they are finding some form, beating Cardiff City and Wycombe Wanderers in their last five games.
The head-to-head between the sides is in favour of Reading, with 20 Royals wins, 12 draws and 18 wins for Saturday’s hosts. The most recent games were 3-0 wins for Blackpool – both home and away. It will be a mighty task for the Royals to beat these lot.
In this preview I will mention some more players who have played for both teams, delve into another striker crisis, see how Richardson could line up the Royals to face their bogey team, and I will give my predictions.
What? League One matchday 17
When? Saturday November 29
Opposition manager? Ian Evatt
Players who played for both
Last time out I mentioned four players who have played for both teams. Here are four more:
Kaspars Gorkss managed 81 games for Reading, scoring seven goals for the club. Before his time with the Royals he played 50 games for Blackpool, netting six times and adding two assists.
Sone Aluko played 104 games for the Royals, scoring five goals and getting seven assists.
For Blackpool he played one game managing a whopping three minutes on the pitch (I had to include it!). He got neither a goal nor an assist.
Between 2016 and 2020, Tyler Blackett played 120 games for Reading, and he came up with nine assists.
In 2013 he played five games for Blackpool, managing neither a goal or an assist.
Finally, Paudie O’Connor. He has so far played six games for the Royals and there will be many more in the upcoming seasons. He has so far not managed a goal or an assist.
He played 14 games for Blackpool, not managing to get any goal involvements.
At the start of the season, the Royals had a problem: their strikers couldn’t score. In fact, it took a striker seven league games to find the net – Barnsley away – and that goal came from Marriott.
That was his first league start for the club and managed to score in the next five games as well, breaking a 25-year record at the club. However, since his injury, the goals scored have decreased massively.
In the most recent two games, it has been Charlie Savage who has come up with the goals. Yes, it is nice that we see another goalscorer on the scoresheet, but it seems like nobody else is getting a sniff. Daniel Kyerewaa has come the closest so far and Lewis Wing hasn’t been himself in these past few games, with nobody to play off.
A lack of a substitute striker has killed Reading. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan is being played there currently, and he just is not a striker. Sean Patton is a striker and has performed well in games he has played but he just isn’t ready. However, we chucked Jayden Wareham in last season and he did well when he became the Royals’ starting striker. Maybe that is something we need to test.
However, I think I have a small solution: the false nine. We have players who can play it.
Daniel Kyerewaa is my main candidate. His speed and technical ability on the ball mean he would be great for that role.
Another option that may make people go “Rhys, what the hell are you saying?” is Ben Elliott. A versatile player who deserves a spot in the squad, Elliot has the ability to play in the middle of the park and have people play off him.
Him sitting back and having Paddy Lane and Kyerewaa playing slightly further up the pitch would allow them to make better runs inside the full-backs, rather than outside.
My lineup starts with Joel Pereira. Of course.
The back line should be Kelvin Abrefa, O’Connor, Derrick Williams and Jeriel Dorsett.
The midfield three should be Savage, Elliott (if available) and Kamari Doyle. Wing needs a rest.
The front line will be Lane, Ehibhatiomhan and Kyerewaa.
Good luck to those going to the game!
