There will be a bumper crowd at Adams Park this weekend as Wycombe Wanderers take on Thames Valley neighbours at Reading this weekend.

It’s been a while since they have taken on each other in front of spectators, especially in the league, so what can we expect at HP12 on Saturday?

Lowdown on Wycombe

Wycombe’s performances in recent weeks have not been matched by the results, and the Chairboys could feel hard done because of this.

As it stands, the Chairboys are winless in five league games (drawing three and losing two), but have won both of their respective cup matches (FA and EFL Trophy) in that time.

Those five fixtures resulted in a 2-2 draw away at Peterborough United, a 2-2 draw away at Oxford United, and a 0-0 home stalemate against Cambridge United.

The defeats were at the hands of Bolton Wanderers and Stevenage, with those games ending 4-2 and 1-0 respectively.

In all, it was the latter fixture that was the most disappointing due to the nature of the game, the constant stop-start flow, and the lack of creativity.

Apart from that, all the other performances could have seen Wycombe pick up all three points on another day.

However, Wanderers have a great chance of ending this run on Saturday against the basement team of League One, with big-name players such as Josh Scowen, Jack Grimmer and Joe Jacobson all returning.

Lowdown on Reading

Where do you even begin?

Following their relegation to League One in May, the ex-Premier League side sit bottom of the table.

They have had four points deducted due to financial irregularities already this campaign, but they would still be in the bottom four if they kept those points.

Additionally, the Royals, who have got the ex-Southampton manager Ruben Selles in charge, have not won an away league fixture since November 2022.

In fact, their last point on the road came back in April.

Will they end this horrific run on Saturday?

Head-2-Head

Games: 15

Wycombe Wanderers wins: Three

Draws: Three

Reading wins: Nine

Last five meetings:

2020/21: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Reading (Championship)

2020/21: Reading 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers (Championship)

2019/20: Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Reading (EFL Cup) *Reading won on pens

2001/02: Wycombe Wanderers 0-2 Reading (Division 2/League One)

2001/02: Reading 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers (Division 2/League One)

Miscellaneous

  • The referee for the match is Craig Hicks
  • He has taken charge of seven Wycombe matches in his career, with Wanderers being on the losing side on two occasions
  • His last fixture involving the Chairboys was the 2-0 win over Fleetwood Town in March, which was Matt Bloomfield’s first win since taking over in February
  • His assistants are Dean Treleaven and Marc Wilson whilst the fourth official is Matthew Sowerby
  • There have been several players that have represented both Wycombe and Reading in recent years
  • They include Jordan Obita, Garath McCleary, Olly Pendlebury, Lewis Wing, Andre Burley and Dejan Tetek (a trial at Wycombe)
  • The last time Reading took on Wycombe in a league match with fans present was in February 2002 – that day, 9,250 people attended
  • It was played on a Tuesday evening, and, as it stands, is currently the attended midweek fixture for the club at Adams Park