Peterborough United and Reading FC’s final fixtures compared

Following Reading’s late equaliser against Swansea City yesterday afternoon, Derby County have been relegated to the third tier of English football, a relief for the Royals who must have seen the Rams as a threat prior to that.

Although Wayne Rooney’s men were always battling against the odds in their quest for survival, they had dragged themselves back from a 21-point deduction to a position in which they look to be favourites to force their way to safety just a couple of months ago.

A change of fortunes for Paul Ince’s side and Barnsley’s resurgence harmed the Rams’ chances though – and the latter didn’t exactly do themselves any favours – especially with their recent form.

Yesterday wasn’t just a good day for the Royals though – but also for Peterborough United who built on a promising win against Blackburn Rovers with another victory as they overcame fellow strugglers Barnsley at Oakwell.

This 2-0 win in South Yorkshire has all but consigned the Tykes to relegation and has also given the Posh a real chance to try and catch Reading who currently sit in 21st.

But do they really have a fighting chance of remaining afloat in the division? We have compared the two sides’ fixtures going into the final few games of the 2021/22 campaign.

Reading

Ince’s men have a reasonably mixed end to the campaign, going up against fellow lower-half side Hull City at the MKM Stadium, returning home after that as they face West Bromwich Albion before they head to Kenilworth Road at the end of the campaign to face Luton Town.

In their reverse fixtures this term, they won just one point from nine against these three teams, just reinforcing how difficult their task will be in maximising their points return as they look to put safety beyond all