Birmingham City are the visitors the Madejski Stadium on Sunday in Round 4 of the Women’s Super League.
Both sides head into the fixture off the back of midweek cup victories against Championship sides. The Royals saw off Charlton Athletic 4-0 while Birmingham played out a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.
Kelly Chambers’ Reading side sit 6th in the WSL after two wins and a loss after three games. A heavy defeat to Arsenal on the opening day was a distant memory after a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa and a 1-0 win at West Ham United gave them six points from nine. Coupled with the Continental Cup success midweek, the Royals head into the fixture in strong form.
Meanwhile, it’s been a tougher start for Carla Ward and Birmingham City. The former Sheffield United boss took over the reigns at the Blues ahead of the 2020/21 season and is still working out her best XI. Birmingham are yet to register any points this season after three successive league defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United and Chelsea. They have tasted victory twice this season though defeating both Brighton and Blackburn in cup competitions.
Birmingham have a host of new faces in their squad with Destiney Toussaint and Jamie-Lee Napier among their new arrivals. Both players will be looking to work their way into the starting eleven after appearing on the bench so far. Daniela Kosinska made her debut for the club midweek on a dual registration from Stoke City to compete with England stopper Hannah Hampton for the number one jersey. Harriet Scott is likely to line-up against her former side.
LAST TIME THEY MET
The two sides met only once during the 2019/20 campaign as Birmingham made the trip to Adams Park. It was Reading who came out on top with an Amalie Eikeland strike sealing a 1-0 victory. The Norwegian scored a fantastic, lobbed goal to secure the three points. The striker is again in fantastic form and could cause further frustration for the Blues.
TEAM NEWS
Reading welcomed back Brooke Chaplen from injury last weekend as she made a first half appearance replacing Fara Williams. The England midfielder left the field after 16 minutes through injury and was not in the Royals squad for Wednesday’s Continental Cup victory over Charlton Athletic. Birmingham are likely to be without young defender Lily Simkin who has not featured all season while Heidi Logan returned from an ACL injury to be named on the bench in midweek. Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton missed the game with Blackburn Rovers as an injury precaution but was still named among the substitutes.
TIME: 14:00 Sunday 11th October, Madejski Stadium, Reading.
(Available to watch on FA Player)
Below we take a look at some players who could have a big impact on this game:
Reading
ONE TO WATCH – EMMA MITCHELL (DF) – POINTS 31 (£40,000)
The Scottish defender is a vital cog of the Reading defence featuring at left back. The 28-year-old joined Reading from Arsenal in the summer and has slid straight into things in Berkshire. She has one assist so far this season and has been given the freedom to attack. Mitchell has double points hauls for the last two rounds so is one to watch on the fantasy radar.
UNDER THE RADAR – NATASHA HARDING (MF) – POINTS 24 (£40,000)
The Royals captain has featured as a makeshift right back for the Royals in the WSL so far this season but come off the bench in attack midweek/ Within a minute of entering the fray, Harding had a goal and notched an assist for Eikeland a few minutes later. If Harding is played further up the field, which is possible with an injury to Fara Williams, she could be in for another big points haul after notching a double figure amount last round with an assist.
ON A BUDGET – LAUREN BRUTON (FW) – POINTS 27 (£20,000)
After a lengthy period out through injury, Lauren Bruton has worked her way back into the Royals starting line-up. She has scored a goal in both of the last two rounds and at £20,000 could be a steal. Two double figure hauls in a row has boosted the Royal who is again likely to start up front after being rested from the start midweek. Another good thing for ShePlays managers is that she avoided a yellow card last weekend!
UNLIKELY TO PLAY*: Fara Williams (Injury)
Birmingham City
ONE TO WATCH: HARRIET SCOTT (DF) – POINTS 12 (£17,500)
The defender returns to the club where she come through the youth system. The Irish international joined the Royals at the age of 8 before making her senior bow in Berkshire. She joined Birmingham in 2018 and has been a regular starter since importantly taking set pieces. With the chance to play at the Madejski, Scott will want to leave her mark.
UNDER THE RADAR – SARAH MAYLING (MF) – POINTS 17 (£17,500)
Sporting the number 2 shirt, Mayling has been featuring in her usual midfield role. Playing out wide, the 23-year-old is picking up regular defensive bonuses alongside the ability to attack. If she starts on the left, she is likely to face a makeshift full back and will have the chance to show her worth. Mayling has also been sharing set piece duty with Scott.
FANTASY BUDGET – CLAUDIA WALKER (FW) – POINTS 12 (£17,500)
The forward is the only Birmingham player to have netted a WSL goal so far (second was an own goal) this campaign. She scored her season opener in the 5-2 defeat to Manchester United and will look to increase her tally against a Royals side who have only kept one clean sheet in the last three.
UNLIKELY TO PLAY*: Lily Simkin (Injury)
Written by Ben Waite (Follow on Twitter at @etiawneb for regular WSL updates!)
*Please note, all information we have may not be 100% accurate
You can view and updated absence list here and an updated transfer list here.