Two teams fighting against relegation in the Championship will meet on Wednesday in what is a true six-pointer, with Peterborough United hosting Reading at the ABAX Stadium.
The Posh have the opportunity to climb out of the bottom three with a victory, as it would see them leapfrog their opponents, placing real pressure on both teams.
Match preview
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Peterborough United have endured a difficult season so far, winning only five of their 29 matches so far, which is why they sit inside the relegation zone right now.
The squad have lost consecutive games heading into this fixtures, with Preston North End picking up a late victory against them on Saturday with an 80th-minute goal from Cameron Archer being enough to separate the teams.
That followed a 4-0 loss against Cardiff City, which highlights a big problem the Posh have been dealing with, which is their defensive abilities, having conceded 60 goals already this season.
Reading have let in the same number though, with both squads struggling to keep the ball out of their nets, which could lead for a high-scoring game on Wednesday.
That was the case when they met last time, but all four of the goals took place in the final 25 minutes, with the Royals taking all the points after a 3-1 win.
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This is something that Reading will be hoping to repeat, especially since Peterborough have the chance to overtake them in the league table with a victory in midweek.
However, Veljko Paunovic will also be aware that they have the opportunity to push away from the bottom three with a win themselves, as they would extend the gap to five points.
The Royals are without a victory in 11 games, with the last time they gained three points being back in November when the squad faced Swansea City, which has seen them slump into this position.
Reading were close to gaining a result at the weekend when they faced Coventry City, in what was a five-goal thriller, but the goals from Lucas Joao and Andy Yiadom were not enough as Ian Maatsen's 65th-minute strike seeing them win 3-2.
Junior Hoilett was also sent off within that match, adding insult to injury for the club, and they will now be looking to bounce back and fight in this crucial fixture.
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Team News
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Mark Beevers has been unavailable lately for Peterborough United due to a hamstring injury, but Nathan Thompson was able to get back into the starting lineup following his own fitness issues.
However, the Posh have a lot of fitness problems to deal with at the moment with Jack Taylor, Dan Butler and Harrison Burrows all unavailable right now.
Reading will be without Hoillett following his red card in their previous outing, but Yakou Meite was able to make his first appearance of the season in that match following his ACL injury, coming on from the bench.
Tom McIntyre also returned to the squad after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, while new goalkeeper Karl Hein will likely retain his place on Wednesday.
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Benda; Thompson, Knight, Kent, Coulson; Brown, Fuchs, Norburn; Ward, Clarke-Harris, Poku
Reading possible starting lineup:
Hein; Yiadom, Morrison, Holmes, Rahman; Rinomhota, Laurent; Ince, Swift, Miete; Joao
We say: Peterborough United 1-2 Reading
This match is a crucial one for both teams due to how close they are in the league table, with the winner being able to sit outside of the relegation zone.
Neither squad is in good form, which is expected due to their positions, but Reading could just sneak this one due to their ability in front of goal.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Reading win with a probability of 37.12%. A win for Peterborough United had a probability of 35.36% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Reading win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8%) and 0-2 (6.71%). The likeliest Peterborough United win was 1-0 (10.58%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.01%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 8.9% likelihood.
