BACKING THE TEAM- READING (H) PREVIEW

Yet another difficult game awaits us, as we recover from the Brighton defeat, and face, somewhat surprise team, Reading. Despite some of the negative comments on social media, there should be only positives to take from the performance against Brighton. Last season, we were thrashed at the Legoland (Amex) stadium, so losing by the odd goal against one of the promotion favourites is not a disaster. In the first half we could have been out of sight, but FFC old boy Stockdale made some amazing saves. And, let's not forget that Brighton have one of the meanest defences in the division. Our fans were excellent, and backed the team to the end. That is what we, the fans, must do this Saturday, cheer the team on and give it our all. Slav and the lads have been great in recognizing our support and we owe it to them to get behind them 150% to spur us on to victory against a good Reading side. 

Reading- The Royals are on a 5 game winning, league, run and have only conceded once in that sequence. All runs have to end somewhere, so what better if that run ends tomorrow. Stam has assembled a good footballing side, and if he sticks to his Dutch philosophy we can expect Reading to try and control possession, and it is hard to see them "parking the bus". Al Habsi is an experienced keeper, and although an agile shot stopper, he can be prone to mistakes. At the back, Gunter and McShane will provide solid defence. In midfield there are no real household names, but Obita is fast and tricky and Swift has chipped in with three goals. There is plenty of fire power up front with Kermorgant and top scorer McCleary, so Kalas and Sigurdsson will have to be on the top of their game. Reading are likely to start with Stam's preferred formation of 4-3-3, but in reality that will alter to a 4-3-2-1, or 4-5-1. It will be up to the Whites to dominate possession and force Reading deeper where they may be uncomfortable.

Fulham- Only Odoi is out through suspension so expect an unchanged team. Button will undoubtedly start as should Kalas, Sigurdsson, Fredericks and Malone. The only possible defensive change could be Sessegnon, but that is unlikely against high flying opposition, as Malone has much more experience. McDonald and Johansen should continue as the defensive shield, but I would expect, available again,Parker may get a run later on, if fresh legs are needed in that role. Aluko and Cairney are definite starters, and the only unpredictable is who starts out of Piazon and Ayite. Martin will play the lone striker role, and hopefully he will get back to his scoring ways. Slavisa will stick to his philosophy of controlling possession, and will be urging the midfield to shoot from the edge of the box. 

Match prediction- Expect much possession from both sides, with the first goal being crucial. 

Score- (Based on my dream last night). FFC to be 2-0 up after 25 minutes. After that I woke up, so in reality, I am going for 2-1 to the Whites.

Key man- Aluko to score and run at the Reading back four. 

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©Nic Smith