Reading vs Wrexham: Match Preview
The Royals face promotion-hunting opposition on Tuesday night in Parky’s Wrexham.
Wrexham at home is going to be a tough one. With the form they have been in for the whole season, and them signing the best striker in the league - Sam Smith - off Reading, it will be a battle of the woes for the clubs.
A glimmer of hope is that Reading are unbeaten in eight games now, although five of them have been draws. Although it’s a good record - sixth-best in League One at the moment - the draws are becoming a slight problem, especially the one against Crawley Town.
I don’t want to be a negative person but the playoffs were always going to be a step above this season, due to a lack of recruitment, and I don’t think as a club we’re ready for what would happen if we do go up.
Wrexham have had their fair share of good results this season and are becoming more and more likely to be promoted again this season. Smart recruitment and a lot of it from the Hollywood team has allowed them to have one hand on a place in the Championship.
In the reverse fixture the Royals came up short, losing 3-0. We’re hoping for the opposite to happen in this one to spark our promotion hunt again.
In this preview I will talk about the reverse fixture, explaining what went wrong, and what Reading need to do to stop this high-flying Wrexham side. I will once again look at the two sides’ strikers, seeing who offers what and how they can be stopped, and give my predicted lineup for the game!
What? League One matchday 36
Season? 2024/25
Who? Wrexham AFC
Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium
When? Tuesday March 11
Time? 20:00
Opposition manager? Phil Parkinson
Reverse fixture
Looking back at the start of the season, Reading’s plans were to look as far away from the bottom of the table as possible, so to get beaten 3-0 with all goals coming before the 50th minute was frustrating.
The first goal conceded was a simple cross and header from the left side of the box across the goal. I would say it could have been defended better but there’s nothing that can really be done with a well worked goal like that. Some very scrappy play before that occurred though with a couple of advantages appearing for Wrexham.
The second goal started with one of the nicest plays of football I’ve seen in League One: tiki taka football with a pass played onto the left-hand side where there was a lot of space surrendered by left-back Jeriel Dorsett. It then turned into the scrappiest goal I had ever seen, with two saves made by Joel Pereira, which then landed at the feet of Elliot Lee, who blasted the ball into the back of the net. A statement of both types of football that can be played in this division.
Now we have the third goal. Reading escaped conceding again before half-time, but not long after the restart the Royals had the ball in their own half and were dispossessed (it should have been a foul). Andy Cannon took a great shot from outside the box and it flew into the bottom left corner. Not much could be done about that.
After these goals, Reading then seemed to be the better team, but by then it was too late. A few substitutes later and the game had ended 3-0 with everything going how it should have really. Wrexham were the better team that day, but it then sparked a reaction from Reading, beating Charlton Athletic in the next league game.
Strikers
It’s known by Reading fans at the minute that they are going through a period where they are testing out strikers, and all of this has stemmed from Wrexham buying Reading’s only experienced centre-forward. So, let’s compare what they have.
Let’s start off with Reading who currently have.
Jayden Wareham has been the man deployed up top the most often since Smith’s departure and, if I’m honest, I think he is the best striker we have at the club. He has proven many times that he can find the goal - he just needs someone to play the ball to him more often.
Kelvin Ehibhationham is a winger who can be deployed as a striker. He is the master of the one-on-one and can easily dribble past anyone in the league to get into a goalscoring position. He was the scorer of the lone goal in the last game against Crawley.
Billy Bodin is the man Reading have brought in to replace Smith’s spot in the squad. Although predominantly a winger, Bodin has proven he can get into good finishing positions, but he potentially lacks the shooting ability to be a natural goalscorer.
Finally, an outsider’s striker, Harvey Knibbs. He’s Reading’s top scorer this season and can be deployed in that striker role when it is desperately needed, but he definitely wouldn’t be my first choice.
Now onto Wrexham.
Paul Mullin is Wrexham’s star man but was injured at the start of the season and hasn’t really made an impact as much as people thought he would. He was brilliant last season and does have it in his locker to be a great striker for them if he does come back into the team.
Sam Smith is the one that got away at Reading. He has started a few games this season for Wrexham, scoring twice already for them, and as we know he is an amazing striker.
Jay Rodriguez is another new signing from January and the ex-Premier League striker is a huge name to bring to League On. However, in his six appearances he hasn’t managed to score a goal yet.
Jack Marriott has been the main man so far, starting off with an arguable goal of the season contender. He has scored five goals in 2024/25.
Ollie Palmer is one that Reading fans know all about as he scored against the Royals in the reverse fixture. He is another, like Mullin, who has been at the club for a while now, and has featured in a lot of games for Wrexham.
Finally, Stephen Fletcher is their last out-and-out striker at the club. He is the highest-scoring striker at the club with seven this season, (I know it’s technically Smith but most of his goals came at Reading), and can be a real danger. The 37-year-old has been a real danger this season and is the one to watch out for in the match.
When comparing these it is clear that Wrexham have more options on who to play, but it’s also clear that they don’t score that many goals. Their centre-back Max Cleworth is their top-scorer this season with eight, meaning set-piece-wise they may be a big problem.
My lineup
Pereira will start in goal. He made some big saves last time the two matched up and he may be needed again in this one.
The defence has been our main strength this season with Tyler Bindon leading them to glory. However, another injury to Amadou Mbengue has left Reading in a pickle on who to pick. In my opinion the defence should look like this: Tivonge Rushesha, Bindon, Andy Yiadom and Andre Garcia. Yiadom is capable of playing centre-back as he proved it towards the beginning of his Reading career, but he hasn’t started a game in a very long time.
The midfield will be the same as usual but some good news has come in with Ben Elliott set to return from injury in a few weeks. This is a really big positive for the midfield, but as usual, Lewis Wing, Charlie Savage and Harvey Knibbs will be in the side this time.
The attack has been chopped and changed recently and I think there will be another slight alteration in which Ehibhatiomhan will be joined by Wareham and Chem Campbell. Mamadi Camara has received a lot of flak recently and, although I think there’s a good player in him, I do think it’s time for a change on that side.
Score prediction: 2-1 Wrexham
I’m not going to kid myself by predicting a low win or a draw. I would happily take both results but I have to be real in these.
Good luck to those going to the game!
Come on you Royals!