Battle of the unbeaten bosses as Reading welcome Millwall to the Madjeski

Millwall head Berkshire-bound to face a Reading side attempting to recover their season under new boss, Mark Bowen.

Despite all the hoo-ha of Bowen leaving his sporting director’s office to take a seat in the Reading dugout, the Royals have made a solid start under him. Four points from a possible six has seen the side move out of the relegation places and begin to look upwards. They also have a game in hand after their clash against Nottingham Forest was postponed last week.

Meanwhile, Millwall have a new boss of their own. Gary Rowett will take charge of his second game on Saturday after his first produced a 2-0 victory against his former club, Stoke. Rowett will also have strong backing when he takes charge of his first away game at the club. The Lions have confirmed over 2,200 fans will be making the journey on the weekend – the allocation being a sell out.

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The hosts will be without striking duo Lucas Boyé (groin) and Lucas João (foot), who are still nursing injuries. Midfield veteran Charlie Adam is also unlikely to feature after picking up an hamstring injury. But Yakou Meite is expected to return following a minor ankle issue.

Gary Rowett is set to have the same squad at his disposal from their 2-0 win last weekend. Long term absentees Ryan Leonard, Jiri Skalak and Frank Fielding all remain sidelined.

After last weeks washout, Mark Bowen hopes his players can regain their momentum and make it three matches unbeaten:

“The last two games we’ve played, our physical stats have been through the roof – which you expect as a new manager. In hindsight, on Sunday I woke up a bit more philosophical and thought that, physically, there was a chance we could have fallen off a cliff, and we had a few people carrying bumps as well.

“Things happen for a reason, we’ll take the positives out of it. We’ve had a free week to go and prepare for a home game against Millwall, so we’re in a good spot.

“It’s up to us to prepare ourselves properly physically and in terms of what we know about them, and how we can hurt them with the ammunition we’ve got, and conversely being aware of what they’re good at.”

Heading into the match six points ahead of their counterparts, midfielder Jed Wallace is confident of extending the gap on Saturday:

“It’s key to have a full week’s preparation for Reading, because I think you saw ideas coming to fruition in just two days’ training before Stoke.

“We’ve got those basic principles of hard work, and we really want to win. The group of lads we have and the culture in the dressing room is a winning environment, and like I’ve said, with the new manager’s experience and ideas, I’m very confident we can push up the table. “