Reading vs Shrewsbury Town: Match Preview
The Royals are looking to make it back-to-back home wins when relegation battlers Shrewsbury come to town on Tuesday night.
A point against Huddersfield Town has seen the Royals maintain their proximity to the playoffs, with a game in hand on some teams around them. This is that game in hand, so they need to make it count.
Having not yet played Shrewsbury Town this season, we don’t know what to expect when they come to the SCL Stadium. But hopefully Reading can continue their home form and get through this match like they have some others.
Shrewsbury have won their last two games, beating Mansfield Town and Rotherham United, with the latter having taken points off the Royals themselves. Salop are playing some good football under Gareth Ainsworth and are hoping themselves to get out of the relegation battle for the rest of the season.
In this preview I will mention players who have played for both, look at how form could affect each side, ponder whether Noel Hunt will change it up, and give my predicted lineup.
What? League One matchday 30
Season? 2024/25
Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium
Who? Shrewsbury Town
When? Tuesday February 11
Time? 20:00
Opposition manager? Gareth Ainsworth
Players who have played for both
I think this could be the last team I haven’t done this feature for. A big 14 players have played for both clubs; here are some of the well-known ones.
Josh Laurent played against Reading not that long ago when the Royals faced Burnley in the FA Cup. But how did he do when he was at the club himself?
Making 88 appearances, the midfielder managed five goals and seven assists, becoming a big fan favourite at the club. This was shown when he went around the stadium clapping all the fans upon his return to face the Royals. Big gestures get you somewhere.
In 2018 the midfielder signed for Shrewsbury Town and played 88 matches for them too. In his time there he scored seven and got six assists.
Signing a year after Laurent left, Sam Smith is up next. Now we all know how influential he was at the club.
Having come through the academy, he featured a few times for the Royals before multiple loans away from the club, then making a permanent move to Cambridge United. The Royals got him back on a free and his appearances totalled to 90.
He scored 38 goals and got four assists, helping the Royals be in the playoff push this season. But Wrexham came in with an offer that neither the club nor the player could turn down, and he left the club just over two weeks ago. He has already scored his first goal for Wrexham and I hope he thrives there.
I mentioned multiple loans. In 2018 he played alongside Laurent for three games at Shrewsbury Town. He managed no goals or assists but did get 55 minutes of football under his belt which helped make him the player he is today.
A player who is at the club currently and seems to be in a lot of these features is David Button. The veteran goalkeeper joined the Royals in 2023 and has made 45 appearances for the club. In this time he does have one assist - for Smith, away to Shrewsbury.
It was in 2009 that he signed for Shrewsbury Town. He played 26 times for the club and had a save percentage of 83.7%.
Finally we have Dave Edwards. The midfielder came through the Shrews academy and played a total of 178 appearances. He became a club legend upon returning in 2019. Across his two spells at the club he scored 15 and got nine assists.
In this gap between playing for Shrewsbury both times, Edwards had a stint at Reading. He played 35 matches for the club, scoring three and assisting three between 2017 and 2018.
Form
Coming into this match, both teams are on good form. Reading have picked up four points and two clean sheets against playoff-pushing Bolton Wanderers and Huddersfield. With such a young squad, this is amazing.
Shrewsbury have picked up six points from their last two - against mid-table sides - taking them up to 22nd, only four points away from survival, with a game in hand over Burton Albion, who are on joint points with them.
This means both teams will be fighting to secure a win - neither will settle for a draw. This means I expect each ‘keeper to have a busy game.
Both games last season between the two sides finished 3-2 so this could also be a high-scoring match. I would say that, out of all the teams Reading play in League One, Shrewsbury are Reading’s bogey team. For some reason, the Royals always seem to have a really difficult game against the Shrews and I expect the same to happen in this one.
This leads onto my next point.
The striker problem
With the loss of Smith, Reading now have a few choices on who to play up front.
TTE posed the question on Twitter: “How well do you think Wareham’s done up top for Reading so far? Would you give Kelvin a go on Tuesday?” This sparked multiple people to debate who the starting centre-forward against Shrewsbury should be.
In my opinion Jayden Wareham should start for the next few games. Watching the Bolton and Huddersfield matches, I don’t think he’s the problem.
Consider the amount of injuries the Royals have had to their creative players such as Ben Elliot and Amadou Mbengue for example. But with Mbengue playing a little bit on Saturday and Elliott getting closer to returning, the Royals have the chance to change things up.
Lewis Wing is a great player going forward but, due to injuries, he is being deployed in a position that is a little too far back in my opinion. Having Mbengue back in the side could let Michael Craig move into midfield, allowing Wing and Harvey Knibbs to play further up the field, being able to create more chances for Wareham.
Wareham hasn’t been given enough opportunity to show what he can do up front and, although I was very sceptical of him in the first half of the season, I do think he has the talent to prove the haters wrong.
Reading have lacked a lot of creativity in midfield since the loss of Elliot. Having him back soon could be the spark the Royals are missing.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan and Billy Bodin are waiting, ready to pounce on the position, but I think it should be Wareham for at least the next three or four games. If then things haven’t changed, that’s when the Royals can think of playing an alternative.
My lineup
There are a few players that look ready to come back into the side but some who still seem a little bit off the pace.
Joel Pereira will start in goal. The star man against Huddersfield will have another busy one so he needs to continue being on the top of his game.
I think the defence will stay the same. It was great to see Mbengue back but he had to be in a knee brace to play. I wouldn’t rush him back to playing a full 90 if he isn’t ready for it yet, whether we need him or not. Michael Craig, Harlee Dean, Tyler Bindon and Andre Garcia will be the defence.
We still have a lack of options in midfield with Elliott not quite there and ready to make a first-team appearance. This means the midfield is likely to stay the same as well. Captain Wing, the Berkshire Beckham Knibbs and star boy Charlie Savage will be the trio.
The attack is where I think there will be a change. Chem Campbell and Wareham will start alongside newbie Bodin. The Welshman looked sharp on the right-hand side when he was introduced on Saturday and I expect him to start there this Tuesday.
Score prediction: 3-1 Royals!
Good luck to those going to the game and make sure to fill the stadium!
Come on you Royals!