After a strong start to his spell as Cardiff manager last season, Mick McCarthy saw his side collect a commendable tally of 11 points from their first six outings of the new Championship term.
They have since suffered a notable dip in form though, with that strong run put to an end by 1-0 defeats to Coventry City and Bournemouth, before being thrashed 5-1 by Blackburn Rovers, as Ben Brereton Diaz hit a hat-trick alongside goals from Sam Gallagher and Tyrhys Dolan in a rampant display.
McCarthy’s side were on the wrong end of another heavy scoreline last time out, as Karlan Grant, Alex Mowatt and Matt Phillips got on the scoresheet alongside a Curtis Nelson goal in a 4-0 away win for West Brom.
With the Bluebirds now sat in 18th spot in the second tier, and pressure quickly increasing on McCarthy after four straight losses, the boss will be desperate to see a reaction from his side on Saturday, as they welcome a Reading side who are also looking to return to winning ways.
After a slow start to the campaign, Veljko Paunovic’s side bounced back in style with three consecutive wins, firstly beating Peterborough United before an Ovie Ejaria brace saw them earn an eye-catching 2-1 away victory over promotion-chasing Fulham.
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Alen Halilovic then fired the Royals to a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough, but they were unable to stretch the winning run to four games when they took on Derby County last time out.
Despite ongoing issues on and off the pitch, the Rams pulled off a somewhat surprising result, as Craig Forsyth netted the only goal at Pride Park.
Paunovic’s men will now be keen to put that disappointing result behind them and make a return to winning ways on their travels on Saturday
