Reading Aims for Momentum Against AFC Wimbledon
Reading head back to league business on Saturday with something they haven’t had much of in recent seasons: momentum.
A second penalty shootout win of the season, this time at Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday, has nudged confidence upwards and thrown up a few selection headaches for the trip to AFC Wimbledon.
League One’s matchday two sends the Royals to the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Saturday 22 August, 3pm kick-off. The bookies shade it Reading’s way. The recent evidence suggests it should be tight.
Royals on the rise, Wimbledon searching
Neither side has flown out of the blocks.
Reading’s league campaign began with defeat, but they’ve survived two cup ties via penalties. Wimbledon’s story is similar: one league loss, two shootouts – but only one of them won. The other slipped away against Leyton Orient on Tuesday night.
There will be familiar faces in blue and yellow. Former Royal Andy Yiadom is in the Dons squad, as is ex-wonderkid Steven Sessegnon, part of what looks on paper a lively, ambitious Wimbledon side.
Referee Michael Barlow takes charge in south-west London, where home advantage and a tight ground usually even up any odds. You don’t write Wimbledon off in their own backyard.
But Reading arrive with fresh legs, a new signing, and a clutch of academy products making serious noise.
Fringe players force the issue
Tuesday’s tie at Wycombe was hardly a classic. It was, at times, flat. Functional. But buried in the grind were four performances that could reshape Rubén Sellés’ thinking.
Ashqar Ahmed was the standout at right-back. Seven defensive contributions, two chances created, 83% pass completion. He defended properly, used the ball sensibly and looked like he’d been there for years, not minutes. On this evidence, he has every right to expect a run in the side.
Inside him, Boyd Beacroft quietly put together the best defensive display of the night. Twelve defensive contributions – the most on the pitch – six wins from seven ground duels and six clearances. Across the early fixtures, he has looked like Reading’s most convincing centre-back. Numbers back it up, but so does the eye test: he attacked everything.
Out wide, Emmanuel Osho brought a different kind of threat. Two shots, both on target, and he probably should have scored. Two successful dribbles from three, constant intent on the flank. He might not break into the starting XI just yet, but as an impact option off the bench he looks ready.
Then there was Liam Fraser, who didn’t just confirm his status as a starter – he underlined it in thick ink. A well-taken goal, 75 touches, seven passes into the final third. Off the ball he was just as sharp: seven recoveries, four clearances and a perfect record in aerial duels. Every header, his. It’s hard to see Andy Rinomhota getting the nod ahead of him this weekend.
Those three academy products – Ahmed, Beacroft and Osho – are another reminder that Reading’s Category 1 setup is still churning out first-team-ready talent. They’re not just filling shirts; they’re changing games.
Earthy arrival lifts the ceiling
Into that mix drops George Earthy, and he might be the most intriguing piece of all.
Born in 2004, the attacking midfielder has spent almost his entire career at West Ham United, punctuated by two loan spells at Bristol City. Senior chances at the London Stadium were limited – five appearances, one goal – but his development work has been relentless.
The 2023/24 season with West Ham’s under-21s is the headline act: 32 games, 14 goals, 11 assists. Those are not tidy academy numbers; they’re dominant ones.
At Bristol City, across 51 appearances, he chipped in with three goals and two assists. When you stack his main season there against others in his position, he ranks in the top brackets for goals, xG, xG on target, non-penalty xG, shots, shots on target, successful passes, touches in the opposition box and possession won in the final third.
That profile screams one thing: a midfielder who plays on the front foot and lives in dangerous areas.
Reading already have midfielders who like a strike from distance, but Earthy actually hits the target with regularity. With the standard of goalkeeping in League One, that matters. There’s every chance he chips in with a few long-range efforts of his own. Lewis Wing suddenly has company in the highlight-reel department.
Earthy is also genuinely two-footed, which opens up angles, disguises passes and makes him harder to pin down between the lines. For a side that wants its “front six” to be one of the best in the division, he looks a natural fit.
He isn’t here to make up the numbers. He looks like a player who can become central to this project.
Predicted XI and a bold call
So how might Reading line up in south-west London?
Between the posts, Joel Pereira is expected to keep his place.
Across the back four, Ahmed should be rewarded at right-back, with Beacroft alongside Paudie O’Connor in the middle and Jeriel Dorsett on the left.
In front of them, Fraser and Wing form the double pivot, tasked with screening, recycling and setting the tempo.
Ahead of that pair, a fluid attacking three of Daniel Kyerewaa, Earthy and Kyreece Lisbie offers movement and goals from all angles, with Jack Marriott leading the line as the central striker.
On paper, it’s aggressive. On grass, it could be one of the most exciting attacking units in the league if it clicks.
The prediction? Reading to edge it 2–0.
The penalties have been survived. The squad has been freshened. The academy is pushing hard from below. Now comes the real test: can the Royals turn promise into points on a tricky away day in August?
