Ipswich Town fans will be hoping that the inconsistency shown in the first week of the season is not indicative of how their campaign will go as a whole.
The playoff hopefuls got their league campaign off to a perfect start with three points against promotion favourites Fulham last Saturday in a match that gave Mick McCarthy plenty to be excited about.
Near the top of that list will be the return to fitness of star striker David McGoldrick, who missed the end of last season through injury but was straight back amongst the goals with what proved to be the winner against the Cottagers.
Unsurprisingly, McGoldrick was not risked in the League Cup match against Crawley Town on Tuesday, but McCarthy will still be unhappy with how his side slumped to a 1-0 defeat after extra time.
The silver lining from that loss is that the Tractor Boys can immediately turn their full attention to making a good start in the league as they look to establish themselves among the leading candidates for a top-six finish.
It has not been an easy start for them, however, with the tricky test of Reading next up before they face arch-rivals Norwich City later this month.
McCarthy had to contend with having 10 senior players struggling with injuries in midweek, but the majority of them are minor knocks which are unlikely to rule the likes of Cole Skuse, Luke Hyam and Tyrone Mings out of Saturday's match.
Reading may not have started off with a win like their opponents this weekend, but they will be pleased at having come away from the DW Stadium with a point against Wigan Athletic.
It could have been even better for the Royals, who led until the 93rd minute, when James McArthur scored a dramatic late equaliser to rescue the draw.
Despite the obvious disappointment of having victory snatched from under their noses at such a late stage, Reading will look back on the result as a positive one against expected title contenders.
Questions were raised over whether Nigel Adkins's side could make another push for the playoffs this season after what has been a quiet summer in the transfer market, but victory over Ipswich will be another step to ensuring that they will be there or thereabouts come May.
Business is starting to pick up for the Royals as well, with new signings Simon Cox, Jamie Mackie and Anton Ferdinand all available this weekend.
They also got through to the second round of the League Cup unscathed during the week, beating Newport County 3-1 at the Madejski Stadium.
Recent form
Reading: DWDLDW
Ipswich: WWWDWL
Possible starting lineups
Reading: Federici; Gunter, Morrison, Pearce, Cummings; Blackman, Hector, Obita, Taylor; Edwards; Pogrebnyak
Ipswich: Gerken; Chambers, Berra, Smith, Mings; Hewitt, Hyam, Skuse, Tabb; Murphy, McGoldrick
Sports Mole says: 1-1
No Data Analysis info
