Let's hope Reading have one eye on the FA Cup semi-final

I suppose some AFCB fans will say that the Royals have not been able to hold this Cherries side of late and with the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal on the horizon it is likely that most of the Royal's first team will be sheltered from a run out in this fixture. Does that make it a simple task for the Cherries? I doubt it as AFCB have a habit of causing us all heartache and nail biting. Had AFCB been a few points clear at this point it may have seemed more of a formality, but an away game is far from that and Bournemouth have to turn up and put in a top performance if they want to keep ahead of the chasing teams.

4000 AFCB fans will be heading to the Madjeski stadium

It is hard to know exactly what team Steve Clarke will put out. In the last league game against Bolton before their quarter final away game against Bradford City he made four changes and for the replay he changed the whole team from the one which played Watford in the Championship two days earlier. Something similar might be expected against AFCB, but reading have three full days to recover before facing Arsenal so he could start with a strong side and see how it goes in the first half before making some changes. The FA Cup is Readings season now and it is likely that Clarke will put everything he has into the match against Arsenal at Wembley for that reason.

Just who will be in that Reading side?

The form of Reading has been inconsistent in the league of late. They have drawn their last three games and barring the FA Cup they have not won at home since 10 March, while during February they did not win at home all month when they played Leeds, Wigan and Nottingham Forest. Still they beat Derby and Ipswich away that month which means that they can perform on their day.

Simon Cox leads their goal stats on eight for the season and just behind him is Pavel Pogrebnyak and then Jamie Mackie on six.

Reading Home Form
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AFCB Away Form
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You can read Cherry Chimes' pre-match interview with The Tilehurst End Blog by visiting their site and you can catch up on the reverse interview here on Cherry Chimes' Rival Lines.

It looks like Matt Ritchie may be struggling to make this game with the stitches he had after the Brighton match, but I suspect that Adam Smith could well get a start in this game. Enjoy the game and remember to sing loudly at the Madjeski - I'll see you there - UTCIAD!