Reading will start a new life without Veljko Paunovic at the helm starting Tuesday, as they welcome Birmingham City to the Madejski Stadium with kickoff at 11 pm.
Reading’s former boss Brian McDermott departed after their victory over Preston North End, leaving the Royals 21st in the Championship table while the visitors sit 11 points and three places better off.
The Royals had to endure an abysmal 11-game winless run in the second half of the season, including seven consecutive second-tier defeats. They lost all those games by a combined score of 23-0, but they finally snapped their losing streak last week by playing to a scoreless draw with fellow strugglers Peterborough United.
Ultimately, Paunovic’s winless run of no wins and five defeats led to the club parting ways with him. The Serbian had a dream start as he saw his side beat Preston North End 3-2 but could not build on that result. The Royals held out for a much-needed 3-2 victory despite Daniel Johnson and Cameron Archer pulling goals back for the hosts.
Birmingham arrives in Derby looking to continue their unbeaten run to three games. While Lee Bowyer’s men have been relatively comfortable throughout the campaign, they were concerned by a run of 11 games between December and January. They earned just a single victory and seven points.
Reading vs. Birmingham City Head to Head
Both sides have 23 games against each other, with hosts taking ten wins while visitors with eleven wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Preston North End 2-3 Reading
- Peterborough 0-0 Reading
- Reading 2-3 Coventry
- Bristol 2-1 Reading
- QPR 4-0 Reading
Away
- Stoke City 2-2 Birmingham City
- Birmingham 3-0 Luton Town
- Bournemouth 3-1 Birmingham City
- Birmingham 1-2 Sheffield United
- Derby County 2-2 Birmingham
Reading Team News
While Ince certainly inherits a Reading squad with plenty of issues, he may look to keep an unchanged team from the one that defeated Preston, other than replacing Rahman with Tom McIntyre.
Birmingham City Team News
The visitors also have several players unavailable for Tuesday, including key center-backs Teden Mengi and Marc Roberts, alongside Troy Deeney and Taylor Richards. This forced manager Steve Cotterill to deploy a makeshift defensive pairing of Maxime Colin and Kristian Pedersen. At the same time, the attack-minded duo of Jordan Graham and Jeremie Bela deputized in full-back roles.
Prediction and Odds
Reading should take confidence from Saturday’s win. However, Birmingham also arrives in high spirits and could challenge a draw.
- Draw
- Double Chance
- Goals Under 2.5
