Tottenham Hotspur Ladies recorded two vital victories in the Women's Super League ahead of this encounter, as those six points have kept Spurs in third spot, two points clear of Manchester United in fourth.
Reading Women were seemingly heading for a late charge for a top-three finish, showing excellent form since November, but back-to-back defeats in the league have left them sitting five points away from Tottenham.
Match preview
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The Royals went on a 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions but just before the international break last month, that run was ended by Brighton & Hove Albion.
Kelly Chambers's side have not managed to return to winning ways since the return of domestic action, falling to a 4-0 defeat last time out on Wednesday against league leaders Arsenal.
Reading found themselves 3-0 down by half time in that match, which they failed to get a foothold in, only registering one shot on target at Meadow Park.
Despite falling behind Spurs in third spot due to those couple of defeats, three points for the hosts on Sunday will mean that they return to within two points of the top three, and so Chambers's side should not give up hope of a Champions League qualification spot.
The Royals have been stronger on home soil than they have been on their travels this season, and with this match being played in their usual settings at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading will view this weekend as a brilliant opportunity to return to winning ways.
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Rehanne Skinner's side did go through a difficult period at the end of January through to the beginning of February, when they lost three consecutive matches, but luckily for their league position, only one of those defeats came in the WSL.
Spurs then made sure that they entered the international break on a positive note, winning their last two matches, most recently a 2-0 win against Birmingham City on February 13.
Ashleigh Neville and Ria Percival were on target in that victory, and just as importantly, that was Tottenham's sixth clean sheet of the campaign, which has been a vital part to their success this year.
Skinner's side have scored 19 goals in 14 matches, and compared to the teams around them that figure is very low, meaning that they have had to remain defensively strong to pick up their points, and they are likely to have to do so again this weekend against a strong Reading team.
It was a tight affair during the last meeting between these two sides in September, when Spurs just edged a 1-0 win against the Royals thanks to an 85th-minute strike from Jessica Naz.
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Team News
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Reading centre-back Deanna Cooper played her first 90 minutes since the beginning of November on Wednesday, and she is expected to start again alongside Gemma Evans in the heart of defence.
Deanne Rose is likely to come back into the starting lineup in place of youngster Tia Primmer, while Amalie Eikeland and Emma Harries could provide some width from midfield.
Goalkeeper Grace Moloney will remain sidelined for Reading due to injury, and so youngster Rhiannon Stewart is expected to remain between the posts for the hosts.
Having not played since before the international break, Tottenham's squad is fully rested and the same team that defeated Birmingham could start again this weekend.
Viktoria Schnaderbeck made her first Spurs start last time out, after arriving on loan from Arsenal in January, and she could retain her place on the right wing.
A back four including Neville, Shelina Zadorsky, Molly Bartrip and Asmita Ale has remained very consistent throughout the season and they are certain to start again on Sunday.
Reading Women possible starting lineup:
Stewart; Woodham, Evans, Cooper, Bryson; Harding, Troelsgaard, Harries; Eikeland, Dowie, Rose
Tottenham Hotspur Ladies possible starting lineup:
Spencer; Neville, Zadorsky, Bartrip, Ale; Clemaron, Percival; Naz, Simon, Schnaderbeck; Williams
We say: Reading Women 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur Ladies
These two teams have shown across the course of the season that they are well matched, which is why they are both in the top half of the table, and this encounter is expected to be a close affair.
Reading need to win this match to make up the ground to the top three, but after three consecutive defeats in all competitions, Chambers will be keen for her side to avoid defeat.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Reading Women win with a probability of 37.75%. A win for Tottenham Hotspur Ladies had a probability of 37.18% and a draw had a probability of 25.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Reading Women win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.32%) and 2-0 (5.94%). The likeliest Tottenham Hotspur Ladies win was 1-2 (8.33%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.77%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 5.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
