Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield believes this weekend’s league encounter against Reading is ‘just another game’, in what is the first domestic fixture between the two sides in three seasons.

Despite being situated 25 miles apart along the M4 and A404, the two sides have rarely met in their long histories, with the Chairboys and the Royals facing each other 15 times since 1899 in competitive matches.

In that time, Wanderers have won on three occasions and each triumph has come at Adams Park.
And with Wycombe not winning in their last five league games, whilst Reading are pointless on the road since April, Bloomfield believes Saturday’s clash will be a ‘tough test’.

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Speaking ahead of the fixture, he said: “Reading are a big football club that have been able to pay good money in investing in their players.

“We lost Wingy [Lewis Wing] to them in the summer and we enquired about several other names who would later be some of their signings.

“We couldn’t get anywhere near what they wanted.

“But they are a club with some big players and even though they are where they are [bottom of the table], we will respect the way they play.

“We’ve been looking at Reading as a team that didn’t have a points deduction and having a such huge following present at Adams Park will give them a boost.

“We’ve watched them a few times and they’ve got a real attacking threat.

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“They also have a good squad so I’m looking forward to it.

“We know we’re in for a tough game.”

Saturday’s match will be the first time since February 2002 that Reading will visit Adams Park with spectators for a league game.

The two sides last met during the 2020/21 season, but both games were played behind closed doors due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Additionally, the last time Reading travelled to Adams Park with supporters was in August 2019, when the ex-Premier League side took on the Chairboys in the first round of the EFL Cup.

The fixture would finish 1-1 after extra time with Alex Samuel scoring for Wanderers and George Puscas netting for the Royals, before the way team won the fixture via a penalty shootout.

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Bloomfield continued: “We know that Reading have got some very good young players who I believe will have very good careers, and they have other players who have been in the League One and know how to handle it.

“But it’s just another game as we want to put in another good performance that will make our supporters proud.

“That’s the thing that drives me.

“We want to give everyone a team to be proud of.”