ROYALS DEFEND PERFECT START IN BLUEBIRDS CLASH
READING will be hoping to protect their unbeaten start when they travel to face Cardiff City on Saturday.
The Royals ensured that they made it two wins from two in the Championship under new boss Veljko Paunović to go top of the table with a 2-0 win.
The Bluebirds got off the mark with their first win of the season on Saturday with an impressive 2-0 a way win at Nottingham Forest after a brace from Kieffer Moore.
Neil Harris’ side started their 2020/21 league campaign with a 2-0 home defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
Cardiff enjoyed a solid season in the Championship last season which saw them make it to the play-offs after they finished in fifth position.
But theywere denied a trip to Wembley and a shot at Premier League football after a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Fulham, who went on to win the play-offs.
Despite their contrasting fortunes last season, it was the Royals who came out on top among the four meetings of the teams last season.
Reading are unbeaten in their last nine meetings with Cardiff as they defeated them 3-0 at the Madejski Stadium last year under Jose Gomes after a George Puscas brace.
Mark Bowen then led them to a 1-1 draw away from home in the league.
The sides also met twice in last season’s FA Cup, which saw the Royals earn a replay after they came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw at the Madejski.
The replay in the fourthround was a much more entertaining affair which saw six goals scored across 120 minutes.
Yakou Meite’s 116th minute equaliser forced a penalty shootout, which the Royals won 4-1 to progress.
Reading will be without right-back Andy Yiadom after Paunovic confirmed that he had picked up an injury which will keep him sidelined for a ‘significant’ amount of time.