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A ruthless Rotherham four-goal blitz before half-time saw Reading slump to a 4-0 loss last time out - their joint-heaviest away league defeat since 2017! The defensive chaos will irk manager Paul Ince, who has seen his side go behind in all three of their league games before the tenth minute, as part of a whopping five Championship goals conceded within 20 minutes already this campaign.
To make matters worse, the latest defeat marks five losses across Reading's last six Championship games (W1) with Ince’s men also failing to net on each occasion. Returning to the Select Car Leasing Stadium may put hope on the horizon however, as Reading can record successive home wins to start a campaign for only the second time since 2009/10, after they triumphed here 2-1 on matchday two.
With Blackburn Rovers currently flying in the league and recording a perfect start (W3) this appears to be a terrible-timed matchup for Reading, even if Rovers have lost five of their last six away league H2Hs!
That record is likely to be a mirage considering Blackburn’s recent away form, with a blistering 3-0 win on their last road trip offering them a chance to post four consecutive away league triumphs for the first time since April 2018.
This is the first time the visitors have started a league campaign with three wins since 1988, and new coach Jon Dahl Tomasson has no doubt enjoyed his perfect start to managerial life in England (W4). The travelling fans will hope to see more records fall as Rovers also chase consecutive wins to start an away league campaign for the first time since 1997/98.
Players to watch: Reading will look to Junior Hoilett for creative output as he boasts a personal joint-high two assists against the Rovers.
The visitors aren't short of creativity themselves, with Sam Gallagher securing a personal joint-high five contributions against Reading (G3, A2).
*https://www.flashscore.co.uk/football/england/championship/
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Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom was content, albeit a little disappointed, after his side relinquished winning positions twice away to Middlesbrough (2-2) at the weekend. In the aftermath he acknowledged that his side “can’t catch a break” with injuries after star striker Billy Sharp was withdrawn from the match at half-time with an ankle concern, an injury that appears likely to see him miss this midweek clash with newly-promoted Sunderland.
Given that the Blades won 12 of the 14 home Championship fixtures last season in which they opened the scoring (D2), landing the first punch once again would appear to leave them likely to replicate their triumphant victory over Millwall (2-0) in their first home outing of the season. There’ll be no room for complacency however, particularly as last Championship campaign Sheffield United won at home against just one of the three teams to have joined from League One (W1, D1, L1).
Sunderland’s last trip to Bramall Lane - back in 2019 - saw them eliminate the then Premier League mid-table Sheffield United out of the EFL Cup. The visitors will hope to be a thorn in United’s side yet again after making a strong start to their return to England’s second tier by taking points from each of their three fixtures to date (W1, D2). Having opened the scoring prior to half-time in all three games, they certainly won’t give Sheffield United an easy path to the home victory they desire.
Their only away trip - an upset 3-2 win at Bristol City - was led by an attacking performance from Ellis Simms and Ross Stewart that Sunderland boss Alex Neil described at the time as “unbelievable” and “brilliant”. After each found the back of the net before the break in their 2-2 weekend draw with QPR, Sunderland fans will be anticipating another strong performance from the pair here.
Players to watch: Both of Sander Berge’s goal-scoring appearances for Sheffield United this season have seen him make the scoresheet within the first half hour, whilst Simms is the only one of Sunderland’s multiple goalscorers to register first-half goals in two games this league season.
Hot streak: Sheffield United and Sunderland have both completed at least 20 consecutive matches across all competitions without having a player sent off.
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West Bromwich Albion have scored exactly once in all four competitive games this season (W1, D2, L1) but the latest of those, Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, left them well down the early Championship standings. That’s below manager Steve Bruce’s expectations and he cut a frustrated post-match figure, lamenting his side’s continued inability to take their chances.
Injuries to strikers Kenneth Zohore and Daryl Dike haven’t helped him, and while he’s still working to win over some Baggies fans, at least Bruce has overseen a decent recent home record as West Brom have only lost one of their last eight home league fixtures (W4, D3). They’re undefeated in four home H2Hs against Cardiff City too (W2, D2), but he’ll want an improvement on last season’s 1-1 draw here to haul them up the table.
They’ll have their work cut out against a Cardiff side whose players have been open about targeting promotion this season, and they’ve backed up the talk with two wins from their first three league matches (L1). They were more dominant than the 1-0 scoreline suggests last time out against Birmingham City too, leaving manager Steve Morison “pleased as punch”.
He’ll be even happier if he can mastermind an upturn in Cardiff’s away form as they must do better on the road if that promotion push is to materialise. They’ve won just one of their last five Championship away fixtures (L4), none of which saw a goalless second half, so travelling fans might be advised against trying to beat the queues by leaving early!
Players to watch: Grady Diangana (WBA) has scored his last three club goals after the 55th minute while Callum O’Dowda already has three goal contributions (G1, A2) and a yellow card across Cardiff’s opening three league games.
Hot streak: The home team on the day hasn’t scored before half-time in each of the last three H2Hs.