READING FC face their final test before the World Cup break away at Hull City on Saturday.
The Royals have picked up just one win in their last nine Championship matches after their Tuesday night defeat to Watford
Their stuttering form has seen them drop down to 13th position in the table.
Saturday’s opponents Hull earned an away win at Cardiff City on Tuesday.
After being 2-1 down, the Tigers made an impressive comeback to take three points with a 3-2 victory which puts them up to 19th in the table.
They have totalled 24 points from 20 games with seven wins, three draws and 10 defeats in a closely contested bottom half of the table.
Hull have struggled to keep goals out and have the leakiest defence in the entire division, having conceded 37 goals in their opening 20 games.
A run of two consecutive victories at the end of October, a 3-1 away win at Blackpool and 4-2 victory at Rotherham, has been followed by two losses and a draw.
Despite going down to 10 men early in their match at Millwall, the Tigers held on to claim a point in a goalless draw at the Den on Saturday.
Hull City appointed a new manager last week as former Royals player Liam Rosenior was selected to take charge.
Hull started the season under the management of Georgian Shota Arveladze, but he was sacked just 10 games into the season with the club in 20th position.
Oscar Estupinan is currently Hull’s top scorer ths seaown with eight goals and one assist in 19 matches in an impressive start to life in England since joining in the summer.
The Royals will be hoping to have defender Sam Hutchinson back in contention after his spell on the sidelines, while
Naby Sarr is not expected to be back until after the World Cup break.
Reading are winless in their last five meetings with Hull having suffered three defeats and two draws.
On their last trip to Hull, Reading were handed a 3-0 defeat after a brace from Keane Lewis-Potter and a goal from Alfie Jones.