Reading will be relieved that they can enter the final day of the season in the Championship having already secured their safety thanks to a decent set of results in recent weeks under manager Jose Gomes.
For quite a while it looked like The Royals would have to sweat on the final day of the season’s results to discover their fate, but just three defeats from their last 12 matches overall in the Championship has seen Reading to safety with a match remaining.
Losses to Leeds United, Hull City and Middlesbrough were outweighed by Reading’s wins against Ipswich Town, Wigan Athletic, Preston North End and Brentford with the first two victories ensuring that their relegation rivals didn’t get ahead of them in the race to avoid the drop.
Reading have displayed solid form at the Madejski Stadium where they’ve lost just once out of their last nine matches on home turf, but while the host’s form has improved immeasurably since Gomes took over the reigns, do they have enough to beat an equally solid Birmingham City outfit on Sunday?
The goals market sees 13 of Reading’s 22 home matches resulting with both teams scoring.
Onto Birmingham City, and Birmingham fans were fearing the worst when The Blues were handed down a 9-point deduction penalty by the Football League around the time that Birmingham had suffered five defeats on the trot, and another nervy run-in to the end of the season looked to be on the cards for the visitors who had previously avoided relegation on the final day of the past two seasons on the trot.
However, Birmingham City possess a renewed resilience under manager Garry Monk and his side bounced back in style with a 1-0 home win against then automatic promotion candidates, Leeds United, which proved to be a catalyst for their current six-match unbeaten run in the Championship.
An additional win over another Yorkshire club, Rotherham United, in a 3-1 win away from home has been further added to by valuable points earned in four draws with Sheffield United 1-1, Ipswich Town 1-1, Derby County 2-2 and last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home with Wigan Athletic.
Unlike previous campaigns, Birmingham also possess a serious goal threat on their travels, although they do have a tendency to concede on a regular basis too - indeed, 14 of their 22 away matches have seen both teams score to date.
With both teams safe and results on the rise, both teams look likely to score here.