Reading midfielder Josh Laurent believes this weekend's clash with Championship rivals Hull City is a 'must win' game for his side, speaking to the Royals' club journalists ahead of this tie.

The Berkshire outfit are currently sitting 21st in the second-tier table after their six-point deduction - and were just two points above the relegation going into last weekend's match away at Swansea City.

Thankfully for Veljko Paunovic's side, goals from Tom Dele-Bashiru and ex-England internationals Andy Carroll and Danny Drinkwater sealed an impressive 3-2 away with at the Swansea.com Stadium, a venue they had never won a league game at prior to Saturday afternoon.

This morale-boosting victory has extended their gap between themselves and 22nd-placed Peterborough United to four points - but will know they could be within a point or two of the bottom three once again if they fail to win against an in-form Hull City side.

The Tigers, rejuvenated by a likely takeover, have won four games on the bounce, conceding just once and keeping three clean sheets during this vital mini-run for a side that looked doomed before their recent victories.

On the other end of the scale, this weekend's hosts at the Select Car Leasing Stadium have only won two of their last eight league fixtures, though they are unbeaten in three of their last four.

26-year-old Laurent believes they have nothing to fear despite the East Yorkshire outfit's recent form, but going on to stress how vital this game could be for their campaign.

He said: "They’ve picked up form and have got some good results – but we don’t have a reason to fear anyone, I think Saturday is a must-win for us – a massive game. We’ll be going all out for the three points.

"We’ve done it a few times this season, going a goal down and getting straight back level.

"We’ve stuck together this season and got back into games, but hopefully we can strike first on Saturday, and then create a gap in the game, so hopefully it’ll be a hard, fast start and an important victory."

The Verdict:

Laurent is right about this being a must-win game for the Royals, because they are still in relegation danger and until they get another few wins on the board, they can't afford to have a sigh of relief.

The Swansea game must be the start of a more promising run for Paunovic's men who showed earlier in the season that they can put a run together - but last weekend won't mean anything if they can't follow it up with another win this weekend.

Hull are opponents that shouldn't be underestimated though, especially with the likes of George Honeyman and Keane Lewis-Potter likely to be a constant threat for the visitors and the fact they look solid defensively.

But if there's one man that can unlock their defence, it's Andy Carroll. Making his first start for the Berkshire club last weekend, he is in line to appear from the off again and this could be a real boost with Femi Azeez also available as an option after his return from injury.

This is set to be a tight affair though - and one that's impossible to predict considering Grant McCann side's recent run of form but also the Royals' home advantage. For both sides, another win would be huge.