It goes without saying that Nigel Adkins will be desperate for three points when his side take on Liverpool at the Madejski Stadium this Saturday. The Royals are stuck at the foot of the Barclays Premier League table on 23 points and another poor result will mean certain relegation and another season lamenting in the Championship. It's been a frustrating season for all concerned at Reading. Having not picked up a point since the win over Sunderland on the 2nd of February, Reading have gone through a managerial change but the status quo of disappointing performances has remained under Adkins short reign. The visit of Adkins former club Southampton to South-East England last week was the first nail in the relegation coffin and an eighth consecutive loss this week will be the second. Their opponents Liverpool are also coming off a poor result after a 0-0 draw in their last start against West Ham at Anfield. The Reds looked uninspired in the early Sunday kick-off, continuing with the inconsistencies that have plagued their 2012/13 campaign. They were lucky to escape with the point after a Lucas Leiva goal-line clearance in the 85th minute and, apart from a few efforts on goal by talismanic forward Luis Suarez, Liverpool barely troubled the West Ham defence who put in an outstanding performance. It will be an emotional affair for the connections of Liverpool with a minutes silence scheduled before the first whistle to mark the 24th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy. Reading are at full-strength, but it'll be interesting to see if Adkins makes any tweaks to his starting line-up from last week. Adam Le Fondre has been a rare shining light with 10 goals this season but, having not scored since a brace against Chelsea in January, he may be replaced by Pavel Pogrebnyak who put in a good performance leading the line in this seasons corresponding fixture. Brendan Rodgers has Stewart Downing available for selection after he shook off the illness which saw him substituted midway through the first half against West Ham, but may opt to give Daniel Sturridge his first start in over a month. Likely Line-Ups:
Liverpool: 4-2-3-1 Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Enrique, Lucas, Gerrard, Coutinho, Suarez, Henderson, Sturridge
Reading: 4-5-1 Federici, Gunter, Mariappa, Morrison, Kelly, Karacan, McAnuff, Robson-Kanu, Guthrie, Akpan, Le Fondre source -
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