Reading’s luck seems to be out, but there’s still time to prove their blistering start wasn’t an anomaly

Veljko Paunović’s Reading team currently sit in fifth place, level on points with Bristol City in sixth and only two points from seventh-placed Brentford.

To occupy a play-off position after 17 games in the Championship has been a rarity for the Royals over the past couple of seasons, however, Reading find themselves in the middle of a poor run of form.

Having taken 22 points from their first eight league games, the Royals were sitting pretty at the summit of the Championship table with some leeway. However, since then they’ve picked up just eight points from nine games, which saw a run of four consecutive defeats through October and November.

Their most recent clash in the second-tier was another defeat. On Wednesday night they were on the wrong side of a 2-1 win for Birmingham City at the Madjeski, with Jon Toral’s excellent brace providing the hosts a mountain to climb in the second half. 

Yakou Méïté gave Paunović’s side hope just shy of the hour-mark but Aitor Karanka’s men held on to inflict Reading with their fifth defeat in nine games.

It was inevitable that their incredible start would eventually fizzle out, however, the manner in which Reading’s form has completely flipped will be a major concern for the former-Chicago Fire boss, who is enjoying his first taste of management in England this term.

One bright spark from Reading’s recent woes has been the continuation of Lucas Joao’s red-hot form. The Portuguese’s run of scoring in five consecutive games was ended on Wednesday night, however, the 27-year-old is still third in the race for the Championship golden boot with 11 goals.

Next up for the Royals is a QPR side who have been somewhat inconsistent for the entire campaign. Sat in 18th, Mark Warburton’s team have picked up five points in the six games since the international break.

An impressive point against Watford was followed up with a vital 3-2 win over Rotherham when the Hoops returned from international duty in late November. This couldn’t be followed up though as the West London club suffered three consecutive defeats, putting an end to the rot on Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw at Millwall.

Reading’s trip to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Saturday could prove to be exactly what they need to get their form up and running again, with the visitors’ place in the play-offs at risk of expiration come the end of the weekend.