New Meadow hosts Shrewsbury Town against Reading in a game of massive importance at the bottom of the League One table. Both sides sit precariously low in the table and need three points to continue to fight for safety.
Shrewsbury currently sit 19th in League One after 16 games. The Shrews have five wins, two draws and nine losses, leaving them on 17 points, just four points above the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Shrewsbury have two wins and three losses. An own goal from Conor Hourihane in the 56th minute was the only goal of the game as Shrewsbury beat Derby County 1 - 0. However, next time out against Barnsley was a different story. A Herbie Kane penalty and goals from Callum Styles and Devante Cole gave Barnsley the 3 - 0 win.
Chey Dunkley was sent off in just the fifth minute against Wigan Athletic which opened the floodgates. Stephen Humphrys and Callum Lang both scored in the 2 - 0 win for Wigan. In the First round of the FA Cup, Shrewsbury hosted Colchester. Cameron McGeehan opened the scoring in the tenth minute for Colchester but it was level at halftime thanks to a goal from Daniel Udoh. Jordan Shipley then put Shrewsbury ahead and an own goal from Connor Hall gave Shrewsbury the 3 - 1 lead. Zach Mitchell did score late on for Colchester but it wasn't enough as Shrewsbury won 3 - 2.
The last time out for Shrewsbury was against Bolton back in the league. Paris Maghoma and Aaron Morley both scored in the dominant 2 - 0 win for Bolton.
Reading, on the other hand, sit rock bottom of League One. In 15 games, The Royals have three wins, two draws and ten losses, which due to points deductions, leaves them on seven points, six points from safety.
In their last five games in all competitions, Reading have one win, one draw and three losses. Chuks Aneke, Tyreece Campbell, Alfie May and Miles Leaburn all scored in the 4 - 0 thrashing by Charlton despite Reading having 57% of the possession. Bosun Lawal opened the scoring for Fleetwood in the second minute and it would take until the second half for Reading to respond as Dom Ballard scored in the 56th minute. However, Josh Vela scored in the 92nd minute to give Fleetwood the 2 - 1 win.
Lewis Wing and Charlie Savage put Reading into a 2 - 0 lead before the half hour mark, but goals from Tino Anjorin and Colby Bishop drew Portsmouth level before halftime. Terry Devlin then put Pompey ahead as Portsmouth took home the 3 - 2 win and Amadou Mabengue was sent off late on for The Royals. One win for Reading came against MK Dons in the First round of the FA Cup. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Harvey Knibbs and Wing all scored in the 3 - 2 win over The Dons.
The most recent outing for Reading was back in League One against Bristol Rovers. Sam Smith opened the scoring for Reading just before halftime but a goal from Chris Martin in the 57th minute meant the game finished 1 - 1.
Shrewsbury and Reading have met 55 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1951. Not much separates the two sides as Reading have 21 wins but Shrewsbury have 20 wins, with the other 14 games ending in a draw.