Since this article was published, this game has been called off due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Reading squad. A new date for the game will be confirmed in due course.
Match preview
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Earlier in the campaign, Fulham were able to shake off an inconsistent period by putting together a seven-match winning streak in the Championship.
Marco Silva will be hoping for much of the same at the turn of the year, with Fulham having failed to record a victory since November 20, a run which has included four draws.
Those stalemates have kept the West Londoners at the top of the standings, but the 1-0 defeat at home to Sheffield United has opened the door to the chasing pack.
Three other teams are now within touching distance of Fulham, leaving Silva under pressure to find a solution to his team's return of just three goals in five matches.
Top goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has 22 for the season, has contributed just one strike from his last four appearances, and help is required from his teammates with no other player netting more than six times.
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As long as Reading are sitting just above the bottom three, their supporters will feel reason for panic, but the Royals have not been performing like a team who should have any concerns about relegation.
Eight points have been collected from their last six games, their two defeats during that period coming by 1-0 scorelines to Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion.
Head coach Veljko Paunovic will naturally demand more from his squad, but there have been far more positives than negatives when taking everything into consideration.
Nevertheless, Wednesday's game will be Reading's first in 18 matches as a result of coronavirus-related postponements, and it remains to be seen whether they will take time to get back up to speed after the enforced break.
Having so far avoided any injury issues, the rest may benefit Andy Carroll, who has added a presence in the attack since arriving on a free transfer last month.
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Team News
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With an array of players having had coronavirus over the past 14 days, it remains unclear how Paunovic's side will line up on Wednesday.
However, Reading have been handed a boost by the news that Baba Rahman and Andy Yiadom will be available for selection ahead of playing at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Ovie Ejaria, Danny Drinkwater and John Swift may also come back into contention after injury.
Tom Cairney could be recalled to the Fulham XI, potentially taking the place of Jean Michael Seri.
Bobby Decordova-Reid is also an option in the final third with Fabio Carvalho and Neeskens Kebano's places both at risk.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Southwood, Holmes, Moore, Dann; Yiadom, Drinkwater, Laurent, Rahman; Swift, Halilovic; Carroll
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Cairney; Wilson, Carvalho, Kebano; Mitrovic
We say: Reading 1-2 Fulham
Despite their contrasting fortunes in the Championship this season, this is a difficult match to call. However, while we give Reading every chance of earning a result from this contest, Fulham's extra quality in the final third could see them edge this game by the odd goal in three.
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 Fulham win with a probability of 60.39%. A draw had a probability of 22.1% and a win for Reading had a probability of 17.52%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fulham win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.97%) and 1-2 (9.87%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.5%), while for a Reading win it was 1-0 (5.6%). The actual scoreline of 0-7 was predicted with a 0.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Fulham would win this match.
