Reading v Watford preview: Chris Gunter set to start for Royals
Wednesday 29 August 2018 20:21, UK
Reading defender Chris Gunter is in line to make his first appearance of the season in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup second-round tie with Watford at the Madejski Stadium (kick-off 8pm).
The Welshman has been absent for the first six games of the campaign with a hamstring injury.
But having played a half in Reading U23's game on the weekend, the right back looks set to feature on Wednesday with boss Paul Clement expected to field a much-changed team.
Clement made a number of changes for Reading's first-round victory over Birmingham, with Marc McNulty, John Swift and Yakou Meite all playing.
Meanwhile, Watford travel to the Madejski in high spirits having won their first three top-flight games for the first time in the club's history following a 2-1 home victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
However, manager Javi Gracia is also likely to make changes, with Gerard Deulofeu, Nathaniel Chalobah and Miguel Britos all in contention to start against Reading.
Deulofeu and Chalobah have stepped up training and now look set for some playing time, while Britos should shake off a knock.
Giant striker Stefano Okaka is also pushing for selection following his recent recovery from a leg injury.
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Reading have won just one of their last eight home matches against Watford (all league games), a 4-0 victory in January 2009.
This is the 12th League Cup meeting between Reading and Watford - their most recent was in September 2004, with the Hornets winning 3-0 at the Madejski Stadium.
Reading have won one of their last 14 League Cup matches against Premier League opposition (D4 L9), a 3-2 win over QPR in September 2012.
Since they returned to the Premier League in 2015-16, Watford have been eliminated in the second round of the League Cup in all three seasons, losing to Preston in 2015-16, Gillingham in 2016-17 and Bristol City in 2017-18.
Watford have lost their last four League Cup games, their worst ever run in the competition - all defeats have come under different managers (Giuseppe Sannino, Quique Flores, Walter Mazzarri and Marco Silva).
