BARNSLEY will look for a third successive victory in games at Reading, a team Conor Hourihane admires for their style of play, from 3pm on Saturday.
The 15th-placed Reds have won just one of their last nine away league games but will be looking to build on the good performance at Liverpool in the FA Cup last week and the home win over Blackpool on Saturday.
The Royals are 11th in League One, four points off the top six and three clear of Barnsley having played three extra games.
The Reds will go above their hosts if they win.
Reading were the division’s form team, having won four out of five with one draw, before losing 3-1 at Leyton Orient on Saturday.
Since losing their first two home games of the season, they have only lost one out of 12 in the league there with seven wins including the last three.
Reading sacked Noel Hunt in late October, with them 19th after winning three of 14 games this season – putting them just two points above the relegation zone.
He was replaced by Leam Richardson – the former Wigan and Rotherham manager – who has won six of his 11 games so far.
Hourihane said: “They have obviously had an uplift in results since Leam has gone in.
“They are a good footballing side and they will test us.
“We have to be very very good but we’re going into it in a good place off the back of the energy and buzz we’ve created with the last few games.”
He added: “There is such a mix in this league, people who want to go back to front and people who want to play out.
“Reading try to play a style with the ball that is positive and attractive in my opinion.
“We have to be ready for that, we have to press well and be organised.
“Then we have to implement our style when we have the ball.
“It should be a decent game in terms of footballing styles and hopefully we can come out of the right side of it.”
The Reds won 3-2 at home to Reading in September with goals by Josh Earl, Davis Keillor-Dunn and Adam Phillips.
They also won 4-2 at the Berkshire club, denying them a chance of the top six, on the final day of last season with goals by Keillor-Dunn, twice, Stephen Humphrys and Jon Russell.
It was a second successive win at Reading.
The teams have met 85 times, with Barnsley winning 29 games and losing 32.
The Reds are unbeaten in six meetings with three wins and three draws.
Former Barnsley captain Andy Yiadom is the Royals skipper and a regular starter.
The Ghana international was a team-mate of Hourihane’s at Oakwell.
Barnsley’s right-back Tennai Watson came through the Reading academy, playing nine times for the first team but never starting a league match.
