Reading FC have certainly surprised a number of teams in the Championship this season under the management of Veljko Paunovic. 

The newly-appointed Royals boss has guided the Berkshire-based side to the top of the second-tier standings, after their opening 11 matches of this year's campaign.

They have struggled in recent weeks though, having lost their last three league matches, which has seen their promotion rivals close the gap on them to just a single point.

Reading are set to return to action this weekend, when they take on AFC Bournemouth, in what is certain to be a tricky test for Paunovic's side.

The Madejski Stadium faithful will be eager to see their side stay in touch with the promotion-chasing sides around them in the Championship, as they head towards a hectic festive period, which could make or break their season this term.

We take a look at TWO Reading FC players who need to be considered for the starting XI more in the near future.

Find out who they are, below...

Andy Rinomhota

Rinomhota has caught the eye with a number of strong performances in the heart of the Reading midfield in recent years.

His hard work on and off the ball often goes unnoticed in the Reading team, with the likes of Michael Olise and Ovie Ejaria grabbing the headlines for their positive impact further up the pitch.

But Rinomhota is criminally underrated in the Reading team, and Paunovic has already singled out the midfielder for his strong start to this year's campaign with Josh Laurent in the 'middle of the park'.

If he can continue to put in consistently impressive showings, then Reading will have an excellent player on their hands.

Lucas Joao

Joao has burst onto the scene with Reading this season, and certainly seems to be making up for lost time last term.

The forward has struggled to stay fit for much of his time with the Berkshire-based side, but has hit the ground running in this year's campaign for the Royals.

He's criminally underrated in the Championship, which is slightly understandable from the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers supporters, who didn't see the best of Joao.

But he's been key to their impressive showings this season, and will be looking to build up his fitness levels, so that he can be a regular in the starting XI, and a player that can feature for the full 90 minutes, which is something he's struggled to do for much of this season.