Fulham came into the Championship playoffs this season regarded by some as the favorite to win through to the Premier League from the four-team field, mostly because of free-scoring form that saw the Cottagers finish the season as joint-highest scorers in their league (tied with Newcastle and Norwich).
But Reading gave Fulham a lesson in how to contain and disrupt a high-scoring team in the first leg, and came away with draw from the first leg. The 1-1 result of the first leg means a tie in the second leg will send this semifinal to penalties (assuming extra time doesn't yield a winner), and penalties have not been Fulham's strength this season. The Daily Mail points out Slavisa Jokanovic's side has missed nine of 13 shots from the spot this term.
But it would be a surprise to see Reading come out at home and play for the draw. Penalty shoot-outs aren't the most predictable mechanism for winning matches at the best of times. Assuming The Royals want to win the game the conventional way, and Fulham doubtless shares the same ambition: this should be a more open match than the first leg.
Reading could be missing two significant players: Paul McShane is definitely suspended after receiving a red card in the first leg; Jordan Obita - who scored Reading's goal in the 1-1 draw - might be held out of the starting lineup due to a knock picked up in the previous game.
Fulham is expected to field more or less the same squad that played the first leg, hoping for a more positive result this time around.
Per livesoccertv.com, here's where to find the game:
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