Reading FC will be looking to make it back to back wins in the Championship when they host Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Having had a torrid run of four losses on the bounce, the Royals salvaged a win at Birmingham City in their final game prior to the international break thanks to a brace from 18-year-old forward Jahmari Clarke.
Clarke replaced George Puscas at half-time and made a significant impact as he netted twice to put Reading up to 16th in the table.
Manager Veljko Paunovic will return to the dugout having missed the previous two matches after serving a period of isolation having tested positive for covid.
Saturday’s opponents Forest had a torrid start to the season which saw Chris Hughton lose his job as manager in September with the team on just one point after six defeats from their opening seven fixtures.
However, new boss Steve Cooper has enjoyed a new manager bounce as Forest have flown up the table in recent weeks, overtaking Reading in the process.
They are currently in 13th position, three places above the Royals despite having the same number of points, but with a positive goal difference.
Forest went into the break on the back of a comfortable 3-0 home win against Preston North End.
Despite suffering a heavy 4-0 home defeat to high-flying Fulham in October, Forest have been in fine form and have picked up 17 points from their last eight games to see the move well clear of the relegation zone.
Seasoned Championship goalscorer and former Royals loanee, Lewis Grabban, is Forest’s top scorer this season with eight goals from 16 matches.
The last meeting between the teams, in March 2021, ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the Forest ground after Yakou Meite grabbed a late equaliser to cancel out Tom Holmes own goal.
Forest’s last visit to the Select Car Leasing Stadium saw Reading take three points.
The visitors went down to 10 players early as Ryan Yates was dismissed for handling the ball on the line.
Lucas Joao scored the resulting penalty and Michael Morrison ensured the points for Reading with a goal in the second-half.
The Royals are unbeaten in their last five matches against Forest and are hoping to have some players back available for selection having had an unfortunate injury run so far this season.
Paunovic confirmed that he hopes to have some players back free from injury after the international break.
He said: “We are expecting at least three players to be back.
“That could be Alen (Halilovic), Tom (McIntyre) and Danny Drinkwater.
“And maybe there is a possibility for Andy Rinomhota. They are in the final stages.
“I believe four or five players can be ready after the break.”
