Birmingham eased to a 3-0 victory at home to Bristol City on Tuesday night, as Riley McGree, Scott Hogan and Gary Gardner all got on the scoresheet.
It is the first time the Blues have recorded three consecutive victories since February 2020 and follows a run of seven games without a victory.
The winning streak – which has come alongside a run of three clean sheets in four matches – has lifted the Midlands outfit to within three points of the playoffs.
Lee Bowyer will now be aiming to make it four wins in a row – something that Birmingham have not done since October 2018 under Garry Monk.
The Blues won 2-1 in both games against Reading last season and have lost just once in their last six matches against the Royals.
That will not fill a depleted Reading side with confidence as they aim to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat in the second tier for the first time since May 1998.
Injuries have hit the Berkshire outfit hard in recent weeks and their fatigue showed in a 1-0 loss at Millwall on Tuesday evening – the third game in a row in which they failed to score. They have not gone four matches without netting since April 2015.
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Having been on the brink of the playoffs three weeks ago, Reading are now six points behind the top six with fresh news of a nine-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules arriving this week.
The Royals have won just two of their last 14 away matches, while only Peterborough United and Cardiff City have conceded more goals in the Championship than them this season.
To compound the club’s woes, manager Veljko Paunovic will be absent from the touchline for the second game in a row after testing positive for coronavirus on Monday
