Hoilett starts: How we expect Reading FC to line up against Stoke on Tuesday | OneFootball

Reading will be looking to put further distance between themselves and the Championship relegation zone on Tuesday, when they host Stoke City.

Following their 1-1 draw with Barnsley on Saturday afternoon, the Royals go into this game 21st in the second-tier standings, five points clear of the bottom three.

Victory here would therefore give Paul Ince’s side a good chance of retaining their Championship status for next season.

However, that looks unlikely to be an easy task, with Stoke coming into this game on the back of consecutive wins over play-off hopefuls Millwall and Sheffield United, that have put them 13th in the standings.

But just what sort of side could Ince name, to give his team the best possible chance of picking up three big points from this game?

Here, we’ve taken a look at the Reading starting lineup we expect to see when the Royals take on Stoke on Tuesday night.

In goal, Orjan Nyland should continue between the posts, having established himself as something of the first choice option for Reading at the minute, following his arrival last month.

Ahead of the Norwegian, one change we could see is at left-back, where Baba Rahman could return from injury to give the Royals a natural option in that position, after he was named among the substitutes at Oakwell on Saturday.

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The centre of the park should see Danny Drinkwater retain his starting spot, as he looks to build on his impressive performance in that draw with the Tykes.

He will surely be partnered by Josh Laurent, who will be aiming to make it three goals in as many games, after his winner against Blackburn and equaliser at Barnsley in Reading’s last two outings.

On the wing, Reading will have to do without the on loan Tom Ince, with parent club Stoke not giving him permission to play against them.

That should see Junior Hoilett come back into the starting XI, with the 31-year-old having missed Saturday’s game with Barnsley after returning late from international duty with Canada.

Upfront, Lucas Joao should once again lead the line for the Royals, although the returning Femi Azeez, another who was back on the bench at the weekend after a long spell out with injury, will offer Reading another option in attack.