Opposition’s Top Stories: Reading FC

Birmingham City kick off their Championship campaign with a home hosting of Reading FC at St Andrews on Saturday. With that in mind, we take a look at what is being said the other side of the fence ahead of the game.

First of all, there is another new signing on the verge of completion at Reading. Espanyol midfielder Alex Fernandez is to undergo a medial according to Get Reading. The 22 year old is set for a season long loan switch.

Secondly we have a pre-season press conference where Steve Clarke revealed that two more players are to be signed before the window closes. Like Blues, Reading have recruited but their manager still hasn’t got the numbers he wants.

Additionally their no 1 goalkeeper is yet to be decided, although I feel Birmingham’s has been. Jonathan Bond and Ali Al-Habsi are still fighting it out in training to be their no 1 keeper. Not bad options to be honest.

Thirdly he spoke about the injuries sustained during their pre-season campaign. Pavel Pogrebnyak; Garath McCleary; Niall Keown; Jack Stacey and Jake Cooper are all definitely out of the St Andrews clash. I do not know the nature of these injuries but they’re certainly getting something wrong with that long list of absentees.

Interestingly their captain has not yet been named, this either means there isn’t a clear candidate, or the nature of their team doesn’t require one. Either way it’s a strange predicament to be in ahead of the opening day.

Finally, Anton Ferdinand has apparently completely changed their defence. The team now appear solid and organised ahead of the new season. With a good solid footballing heritage under his belt, a signing such as this one for the Championship was no doubt a no brainer. So I’m guessing 6 goals are out of the question this time around.

So that concludes my look over the fence at the opposition ahead of tomorrow’s game. Blues have geared up steadily for their campaign and do appear to be just about ready to begin. Reading sound like they’re still finding their feet if I’m honest, I could be wrong, but even with an influx of new talent, Blues can win this one.

Let me know what you think below, Blues win? What’s your scoreline?