Sky Sports EFL pundit David Prutton has suggested that Reading will be able to just about edge out Barnsley and claim a narrow win when the two sides meet on Saturday.

Reading head into the game with a lot of momentum after the Royals have managed to secure four wins in their previous five Championship fixtures.

They managed to secure a narrow 1-0 win away at Cardiff City last time out before the international break despite them spending most of the contest on the back foot.

The form of Reading over their last four games has seen them climb up to 10^th place in the Championship table with them on 16 points at the moment.

However, with the threat of a potential points deduction still hanging over them, they need to continue to keep picking up as many points as possible.

Barnsley, meanwhile, head into the game still under major pressure to find some form and momentm in the Championship this season.

Markus Schopp is coming under a lot of scrutiny from supporters and he needs his side to find a way of picking more wins if he is going to be able to survive in his job.

The Tykes have dropped into the bottom three in the Championship now after suffering three straight defeats. They desperately need to address that and ensure they pick up a much-needed result here against Reading because another defeat would put them deeper into trouble.

Making his latest round of predictions for Sky Sports, Prutton suggested that the Royals will just about have too much momentum for Barnsley to handle on Saturday. He believes that Reading will come out narrow 1-0 winners for the second successive game.

The verdict

This seems like another real chance for Reading to keep picking up three points and maintain their forward momentum. Considering the form that they are in so far this term, it is hard to see Barnsley being able to pick up a much-needed second win of the campaign in this fixture.

Considering that they could be set to suffer a points deduction at some stage this season, the Roayls can not afford too many dips in form, and it is vital that they do not suffer a setback against a Barnsley side that they will be expected to defeat.

Barnsley desperately need to try and secure all three points from this fixture if they are to have any chance of getting back on track. Time could potentially running out for the Tykes boss if he does not manage to pick up a much-needed win in the near future.