League One high-flyers Peterborough United host struggling Reading on Boxing Day at London Road, with both sides harbouring contrasting ambitions as they head into the festive fixture.

The two teams might be at different ends of the table, but they both come into this match looking to protect their respective unbeaten streaks.

Match preview

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Peterborough came from a goal down to beat Shrewsbury Town 2-1 in their last League One match at the Croud Meadow, with goals from Ricky-Jade Jones and Hector Kyprianou extending their unbeaten run in the league to six matches.

The Posh are unbeaten in seven across all competitions, including a 3-0 win over Arsenal Under-21s in the EFL Trophy and a 2-1 victory against Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup.

Darren Ferguson's side are in second place on 44 points, five points behind first-placed Portsmouth after 22 matches, as they look to secure automatic promotion to the Championship.

Peterborough have been solid on home soil this season with seven wins, two draws and just one loss in 10 league matches at London Road and are looking to extend an eight-match home unbeaten run on Tuesday.

The Posh have scored 12 goals in their last three home matches in League One while conceding none, and they have only failed to keep a clean sheet against Wycombe in their last seven games on home turf.

A win on Tuesday will see Ferguson's side complete the double over Reading after a 1-0 victory at Select Car Leasing Stadium in August.

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Meanwhile, Reading are also coming into this match off a win after extending their unbeaten run in the league to three matches with a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic last time out.

Femi Azeez opened the scoring in the first half before Sam Smith added a second to seal the win in the second half.

Despite the recent success, Ruben Selles's side are 21st in the table and remain in the relegation zone with 18 points, but they are now only one point away from 20th-placed Exeter City.

The Royals have been poor on the road this season, having recorded just one win and one draw, along with eight losses, but they seem to have turned the corner, as the win and draw came in their last two away league games.

Team News

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Twenty-one-year-old striker Jones has scored two goals in his last three appearances and is expected to retain his spot in attack for the home side, while Kwame Poku, Joel Randall and Hector Kyprianou should play the supporting roles.

At the defensive end of the pitch, Josh Knight and 20-year-old Ronnie Edwards should form the centre-back pairing, with Nicholas Bilokapic starting between the sticks once again.

Reading will be without the services of 25-year-old defender Tom McIntyre, who has been out of action since coming off injured in the game against Burton Albion on September 30.

Teenage striker Dominic Ballard, who has three league goals to his name this season, has missed the Royals' last seven matches and is also expected to miss out.

Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Bilokapic; Burrows, Knight, Edwards, Kioso; Collins, Kyprianou, Randall; Mason-Clarke, Poku, Jones

Reading possible starting lineup:
Button; Dorsett, Abbey, Holmes, Mbengue; Craig; Mukairu, Wing, Knibbs, Azeez; Smith

We say: Peterborough United 2-0 Reading

Peterborough will be simply too strong for Reading to handle, especially on home turf.

The Posh have scored for fun at home while keeping a lot of clean sheets, which made this prediction a pretty straightforward one.


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