We're off to visit Glen

Dave Kitson

At Glen’s new home, the Madejski Stadium Reading, they are doing very well although he hasn’t been around too much with the usual hamstring problems.

They are currently sitting at the top of the league and if we think that makes our task somewhat difficult they haven’t dropped a single point at home, in fact Crewe were the last team to get a point there in a 1-1 draw last April.

They missed out on the play offs last season finishing in ninth place and manager Steve Coppell strengthened his squad with four new faces during the summer. For weeks before the end of last season we all knew that Glen was heading down there and he was the first of the four to sign in at the beginning of July.

Brentford’s Senegalese defender Ibrahima Sonko was next and then Paul Brooker, who had played for Coppell at Brighton, arrived from Leicester.

The fourth new player was American Bobby Convey and the US international was signed from DC United.

Coppell has the luxury of managing a club with a benefactor and although players left during the summer he didn’t really have to reduce his first team squad at all before adding the new players.

They have started the season well although incredibly they have lost more games than the Clarets with three defeats on their travels. They have hardly been outside the top few clubs in the first couple of months of the season and finally went top last weekend after beating Watford at Vicarage Road.

Never before have they topped this division although they did come close to making it to the Premiership some ten seasons ago when they blew it in the Play Off Final against Bolton.

They had a tough game in midweek at Ipswich but a 1-1 draw enabled them to keep their place at the top with Wigan only drawing at Watford.

Long Ball Joe was complaining after the game that Dave Kitson’s equaliser for Reading was offside and television evidence does seem to back him up.

Royals boss Steve Coppell admitted to being happy with the result after they were put under pressure by Ipswich. They now return to the Madejski for the first time since going top.

Click HERE to see all Reading’s results this season.

Reading will be able to add Glen Little to their squad after he played seventy minutes of a reserve game against Franchise in midweek although central defender Adie Williams is now out with a hamstring injury.

Williams will be replaced by either Ricky Newman or Ibrahima Sonko in the centre of defence with Newman tipped to play.

Lloyd Owusu is definitely out with a swollen knee although keeper Marcus Hahnemann is expected to be fit enough to play despite a back problem.

In the reserve game both Shaun Goater and Bobby Convey scored twice and they could come into contention but both are expected to remain on the bench.

The likely Reading line up is:

Marcus Hahnemann, Graeme Murty, Ivar Ingimarsson, Ricky Newman, Nicky Shorey, James Harper, Steven Sidwell, Andy Hughes, Paul Brooker, Nicky Forster, Dave Kitson. Subs: Jamie Young, Ibrahima Sonko, Bobby Convey, Glen Little, Shaun Goater.

Steve Cotterill will have probably the biggest squad to choose from as he has had all season with Michael Duff set to return after serving his one match suspension following the sending off against Stoke.

Lee Roche is still out with his hamstring injury and Ryan Townsend is also out of contention, he is suffering from shin splints and will be out for another couple of weeks.

Duff will come back into the starting line up at the expense of Richard Duffy who has done so well in the game and a half he has played. I also suspect that Micah Hyde could be back in the starting line up with Jean-Louis Valois back on the bench.

The probably team is:

Danny Coyne, Michael Duff, Frank Sinclair, John McGreal, Mo Camara, Ian Moore, Richard Chaplow, Tony Grant, Micah Hyde, Graham Branch, Robbie Blake. Subs: Brian Jensen, Richard Duffy, Matt O’Neill, Amadou Sanokho, Jean-Louis Valois.

Last year saw us pick up a point in a 2-2 draw. We fell behind to a calamitous goal with Mo Camara heading the ball back to keeper Brian Jensen who had come storming out of his box for some reason – it left Reading with a gift.

Ian Moore scored a good equaliser and a win looked certain after David May had turned in a cross from Bradley Orr. But deep into injury time Reading equalised and we had to settle for a point in one of our best away performances of the season.

The teams were,

Reading: Marcus Hahnemann, Graeme Murty, Ivar Ingimarsson, Ricky Newman, Nicky Shorey, Andy Hughes (Scott Murray 71), Steve Sidwell, James Harper, John Salako (Dean Morgan 56), Shaun Goater (Dave Kitson 71), Lloyd Owusu. Subs: Adie Williams, Jamie Young.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Lee Roche, David May, Mark McGregor, Mo Camara, Glen Little, Richard Chaplow (Bradley Orr 45), Tony Grant, Paul Weller, Robbie Blake, Ian Moore. Subs not used: Paul Rachubka, Dean West, Luke Chadwick, Alan Moore.