The Season So Far
Reading arrive in West London in 19th place - the same position in the table that they ended the 2014/15 season. They have yet to win in the league so far, a fact which may be troubling Royals fans who are hoping to avoid a repeat of their previous campaign. They lost their opening league match, 2-1 away to Birmingham City, and have since recorded three successive league draws, against Leeds United (0-0), Sheffield Wednesday (1-1) and Milton Keynes Dons (0-0).
Manager Steve Clarke released nine players in the summer, including long-serving goalkeeper Adam Frederici and Alex Pearce, who joined AFC Bournemouth and Derby County respectively. Former Brentford loanee Mikkel Andersen [FC Midtjylland]; Geroge McLennan [Cheltenham Town]; Jem Karacan [Galatasaray]; Jure Travner [Celje]; Stephen Kelly [unattached]; Danny Guthrie [Blackburn Rovers] and Hope Akpan [Blackburn Rovers] also left Berkshire on expiry of their contracts.
Arriving at The Madjeski this summer were Jonathan Bond [Watford]; Orlando Sa [Legia Warsaw]; Stephen Quinn [Hull City]; Paul McShane [Hull City]; Ali Al-Habsi [Wigan Athletic]; Paolo Hurtado [Paços de Ferreira] plus Academy graduates Lewis Collins, George Lugg, and Jake Sheppard.
Clarke has also signed Andrew Taylor [Wigan Athletic] and Álex Fernández [Espanyol] on season long loans.
The Gaffer
Steve Clarke begins his first full season at Reading hoping to vastly improve their league placing from last season. The former St. Mirren and Chelsea defender was appointed The Royals manager in December 2014, succeeding Nigel Adkins.
He took Reading to their first FA Cup Semi-Final for 88 years in April, but his side could only finish 19th in the Sky Bet Championship table. This is his second managerial role, after a previous spell with West Bromwich Albion. He has been Assistant Manager at Chelsea, Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Liverpool.
Last visit
Brentford 3 Reading 1 Sky Bet Championship 4 October 2014.
The Match Officials
Referee: Andrew Madley.
Assistant Referees: John Busby and Ian Cooper.
Fourth Official: Justin Amey.
Ticket news
Visit the Reading ticket information page for more details. You can hear live match commentary on Bees Player from 2.30pm on Saturday, with commentators Mark Burridge and Dave Morley.