Reading vs Fleetwood Town: Match Preview

Reading are back in FA Cup action, facing a League Two side under the management of a former Royal.

Welcome to another month of football. Kicking November off is a home match for the Royals to hopefully get back the swing in their step after another away loss in midweek. A small break from the league for the Royals includes two cup games in four days.

This week’s opponents see themselves 15th in League Two and without a win in their last five games following a 2-2 draw to Salford City. After being relegated from League One last season, it is a little bit of a shock to see them so low down in the table, especially when another team that went down with them (Port Vale) are currently sat top of League Two, having only lost two games.

In this preview I will talk about past FA Cup runs best and worst, a little bit of history on the FA Cup itself and what it brings to smaller teams that enter, and finally my predictions.

What? FA Cup round one

Season? 2024/25

Who? Fleetwood Town

Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium

When? Saturday November 2

Time? 15:00

Opposition manager? Charlie Adam

Past and present FA Cup runs

From what I can find, the best FA Cup run Fleetwood Town have had was in 2022/23 when they made the fifth round of the competition. Entering in the first round, the Fishermen beat Oxford City 3-1. They then defeated Ebbsfleet Town 1-0 in the next round, facing Championship side Queens Park Rangers in round three.

A shock result saw Fleetwood beat QPR 2-1 to advance into the fourth round, where it took a replay for them to see off Sheffield Wednesday 1-0. However, the fifth round was where it all went south.

A matchup against Burnley took until the 90th minute for the first and only goal needed to decide the outcome of the game. Conor Roberts was the guy to score that goal, inevitably knocking the Fishermen out of the FA Cup. This time out the trophy was won by Manchester City in a Manchester derby final.

Reading’s best FA Cup run in recent years was in 2014/15 when they made the semi-finals. This run started in the third round of the FA Cup where the Royals won 1-0 away to Huddersfield Town. Two consecutive 2-1 victories - against Cardiff City and Derby County - led the Royals to a quarter-final fixture vs Bradford City.

With the first game finishing 0-0 at Valley Parade, the game took to a replay to the Madejski Stadium. Goals from Hal Robson-Kanu, Garath McCleary and Jamie Mackie saw the Royals advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1927, with Arsenal the opponents.

A goal in the 40th minute from Alexis Sanchez put the Gunners ahead. McCleary then gave the Royals hope in the 54th minute, which took the game to extra time, but a second goal from Sanchez in added time in the first half of extra time was enough to knock the Royals out of the competition. Arsenal then eventually won the competition, beating Aston Villa 4-0 in the final.

The history of the FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup actually has something in common with Reading FC, with both being founded in 1871. The FA Cup is football’s oldest competition, spanning 153 years.

The entry standard for the FA Cup is to be a level nine club or above, with level 10 clubs acting as stand-ins for those who don’t enter. The first six rounds are classed as qualifying rounds in which non-league sides battle to be among the 32 sides which qualify for the first round proper, where they have a chance to face the 48 teams from League One and League Two.

The 40 winners then face each other to make it down to 20 before the third round proper. The third round sees the 44 clubs from the Championship and the Premier League join the competition, where unseeded draws take place to determine every match until the final.

The winner of the eventual final gets the FA Cup trophy, qualification to the UEFA Europa League and a place in the next year’s Community Shield.

Arsenal have won the FA Cup the most amount of times at 14, with Manchester United just behind on 13. Manchester United are also the current holders of the FA Cup, having beaten Manchester City in the 2024 final.

The final and semi-finals are played at Wembley to reduce “home advantage”. This was made when they decided to scrap two-legged semi-final games as it made too many games for the players.

The FA Cup is the competition that most smaller teams look forward to, largely because that is where they are more likely to make their money. If a smaller non-league side can reach the proper rounds and potentially face a team in League Two or above, they have one of two options.

The first is that they get a good away game for the club, with the potential to cause a good upset to then have another go at another big side. The second option is that they get a home game against a big side. This means they can make a good amount of money as the bigger, travelling side may bring more fans, selling more tickets, and they also have the possibility for TV coverage.

My lineup

With him playing in the under-21s game against Monaco at the start of this week, I expect Coniah Boyce-Clarke to be in goal.

The defence may change a little bit to give rests to some players. I think the back four will consist of Ashqar Ahmed, Tyler Bindon, Harlee Dean and Andre Garcia.

The midfield three should consist of Ben Elliott, Shay Spencer and Harvey Knibbs.

With Sam Smith injured it is likely that either Jayden Wareham or Basil Tuma will step into that striker role. I think that for this game it will be Wareham, but on Tuesday Basil Tuma will get his chance. Alongside Wareham I think will be Adrian Akande and Chem Campbell.

Score prediction: 2-0 Royals

Make sure to support the lads and make some noise. Safe travels to those going to the game.

Come on you Royals!