Reading Travel To Emirates

The Royals travel to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium for the first time tomorrow, and will make a number of changes from the team that lost to Manchester United on Tuesday, with Steve Coppell set to welcome back a number of his regulars.

Marcus Hahnemann will occupy the sticks, with Graeme Murty returning at right back and former Gunner James Harper in central midfield.

Stephen Hunt and Glen Little are set to return to the wide positions, with Coppell likely to pick two from Dave Kitson, Leroy Lita, Shane Long and Kevin Doyle in attack.

Michael Duberry and Greg Halford are in contention after being cup tied for the United game, with John Oster, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Ulises De La Cruz, Sam Sodje and Adam Federici competing for places on the bench.

Coppell must decide whether to stick with the five-man defence that he has employed for recent fixtures against the top clubs, or return to the favourable 4-4-2 tactic.

Unfortunately, both Bobby Convey and Ibrahima Sonko will not play again this season due to knee injuries.

Arsene Wenger will be without a plethora of big stars through a combination of suspension and injury, including strikers Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin Van Persie.

Also missing are Kolo Toure, Emmanual Eboue, Tomas Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini, Justin Hoyte and Abou Diaby.

However, the Gunners will welcome back goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, defender Johan Djourou and midfielder Cesc Fabregas after they were rested from the FA Cup exit to Blackburn.

William Gallas has recently returned from injury and will line up alongside Philippe Senderos in the centre of defence, with Djourou possibly covering for Eboue and Hoyte at right back, and Gael Clichy on the left.

In midfield, Fabregas will be joined by Gilberto Silva in the centre, with Freddie Ljungberg and Aleksandr Hleb likely to start on the flanks.

The likely strike partnership is Julio Baptista and Jeremie Aliadiere, although Theo Walcott is also available and could be the only Englishman in Arsenal’s starting line up.

Other candidates for the squad are young defender Armand Traore, Brazilian midfielder Denilson, Gavin Hoyte and Mark Randall.

Vital Quotes: Arsene Wenger

‘They are a very good side and what Steve Coppell has done is excellent,” said Wenger. “I don’t only say that to be correct or fair but because I like the way they play football. And it’s no coincidence that they are, with us, the team that commits the fewest fouls.

“They are the success story of the season but I am not surprised. We played them in the Carling Cup last year and I saw the quality in the squad.”

Arsenal Team News:

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Gallas, Djourou, Senderos, Clichy, Hleb, Gilberto, Fabregas, Ljungberg, Aliadiere, Baptista, Almunia, Diaby, Walcott, Denilson, Traore, Randall, Connolly, Perez.

Player to watch: Cesc Fabregas

In my opinion, Fabregas is one of, if not the, most exciting young talents in world football. He’ll be more important to Arsenal’s game plan that usual tomorrow, as the Gunners will be without nine of their stars. His range of passing and incredible vision could unlock our defence.

Reading Team News:

Reading (from): Hahnemann, Murty, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Duberry, Shorey, Little, Sidwell, Harper, Hunt, Lita, Doyle, Kitson, Long, Federici, de la Cruz, Halford, Sodje, Gunnarsson, Oster, Seol, Bennett.

Player to watch: Steve Sidwell

The commanding midfielder will relish the chance to show Arsene Wenger what he’s missing when he visits his former club, and is essential to an effective Royals performance. Sidders loves to get forward, and a goal against his old team would be fantastic for him.

Match Facts & Stats

ARSENAL

4th – 49 points

Highest achievable after Saturday’s matches: 4th

Lowest could fall: 4th

READING

6th 43 points

Highest achievable after Saturday’s matches: 6th

Lowest could fall: 8th

Ref Watch:

Chris Foy (Merseyside) will take charge of tomorrow’s match. His last game was also an Arsenal fixture, a 3-1 FA Cup victory after extra time at Bolton, when the Gunners missed two penalties and Bolton had Tel Ben Haim sent off.

He also refereed the Gunners’ recent League trip to Blackburn, where Wenger’s men ran out 2-0 winners despite having Gilberto Silva sent off.

His only Reading game this season was the highly forgettable 0-0 draw at Watford in December, where John Oster was the only man booked.

Match Prediction:

Given the last two results against Arsenal, it would be understandable to predict a heavy defeat on our first visit to the Emirates. However, the Gunners are missing a lot of important players, and I’d love to see us take something from the game. With the right tactics and formation, we could certainly make a game of it. An optimistic 1-1 draw.