West Ham United continue their preparations for the new Premier League campaign with a trip to Championship outfit Reading on Wednesday.
The Hammers are unbeaten in their three pre-season fixtures so far, while the Royals won their sole friendly to date against Lincoln City.
Match preview
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West Ham's points tally of 65 in the Premier League last season was a club record, as they finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League for the first time in five years.
Since then, it has been a fairly quiet summer in East London as they gear up for their travels around the continent and their league opener away to Newcastle United on August 15.
David Moyes's only first team signing so far has been Craig Dawson, who spent last season on loan at the London Stadium.
After beginning their pre-season with a 2-2 draw against Dundee, West Ham played two games at the same time last Tuesday night – splitting their squad for fixtures against Northampton Town and Leyton Orient.
While one Hammers side that included Mark Noble and Michail Antonio played out a goalless draw with the O's, a Conor Coventry strike and an own goal helped another XI beat the Cobblers 2-1.
After travelling to the newly-named Select Car Leasing Stadium, Moyes's men will complete their pre-season schedule with fixtures against Celtic, Brentford and Atalanta.
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Reading are unlikely to provide as stern a test as those three sides, but the Royals should be raring to go in front of their first home crowd since December.
Moreover, after their friendly against Aberdeen on Friday was cancelled due to three positive Covid-19 tests, they will be eager to be back in action.
It means that their only pre-season game so far was a 1-0 win over League One side Lincoln City, secured through a neat finish from 19-year-old Tyrell Ashcroft.
There should be a heavy youth presence in this game too, as Reading have a very thin senior squad and are yet to make any summer signings. An EFL embargo means they can only bring in free agents and loan players.
The Royals finished seventh in the Championship last season after spending most of the campaign in the playoff positions, and they are unbeaten in their last seven matches at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Veljko Paunovic is clearly keen to test his team before their Championship opener at Stoke City on August 7, as West Ham are the first of two Premier League teams they will face in pre-season; Crystal Palace are set to visit Berkshire at the end of the month after League One Charlton Athletic face the Royals.
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Team News
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One of Reading's three reported Covid-19 cases last week was an anonymous player, making him unavailable for this game.
Former West Bromwich Albion winger Kyle Edwards is currently on trial with the Royals and could feature at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Captain Liam Moore is away with Jamaica at the Gold Cup so either Tom Holmes or Tom McIntyre should partner Michael Morrison in defence.
After splitting the West Ham squad for their two simultaneous friendlies last week, David Moyes will have a bigger group to choose from in Berkshire.
That means he should start several Premier League regulars but also give opportunities to players such as Conor Coventry, Nathan Holland and Xande Silva who are looking to break into the first team this season.
The Hammers' representatives at Euro 2020 – Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice and Andriy Yarmolenko – are still on their summer breaks.
Reading possible starting lineup:
Rafael; Yiadom, Morrison, Holmes, McIntyre; Laurent, Rinomhota; Edwards, Swift, Ejaria; Joao
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Randolph; Fredericks, Ogbonna, Dawson, Cresswell; Coventry, Noble, Lanzini; Silva, Antonio, Holland
We say: Reading 1-2 West Ham United
This will be a good opportunity for both managers to test their squads against their toughest opponents of pre-season so far. West Ham will be the favourites, but with many of their key players not yet back in training after Euro 2020, it will not be a walkover for the visitors.
Olly Allen
