A look ahead to Saturday's Sky Bet League One meeting with Reading at the Weston Homes Stadium (3pm).
Peterborough United are back in action on Saturday as they welcome Reading to the Weston Homes Stadium in Sky Bet League One action (3pm).
It has been a little while since Darren Ferguson's men were in action - the last game was the 6-1 win over Cambridge United.
Posh have won six of the last seven games in PE2 in all competitions and have not been beaten since the 2-0 loss to Wrexham back in August.
TEAM NEWS
Defender Jadel Katongo featured for 45 minutes in the Under 21s on Tuesday afternoon, but won't be involved this weekend. Manager Darren Ferguson confirmed he will train over the weekend and then have a full build-up to the clash with Notts County in the Emirates FA Cup.
Bradley Ihionvien is set to spend at least two months on the sidelines after a scan revealed a freak leg injury. Jed Steer, Hector Kyprianou and Rio Adebisi remain side-lined, but all three are making good progress from their injuries. Mahamadou Susoho is set to re-join the club at the start of January.
Reading welcome back striker Sam Smith after injury with the former Cambridge United front man a regular goalscorer against Posh in recent games.
MANAGER QUOTES
"This will be a tough game. They have a similar age profile to ours. They play good football and we will have to be good in and out of possession. I think their manager deserves a huge amount of credit, they have probably gone under the radar a bit, but for me, he is the manager of the last 18 months given what he has had to deal with on and off the pitch,” Darren Ferguson said.
ONE TO WATCH
Sam Smith
A former Academy graduate, Smith (pictured in action against Posh) returned to the Royals in the summer of 2023 after a two-year stint at Cambridge United. Still learning his trade, Smith embarked on loan spells with Oxford United, Shrewsbury Town, Cambridge United, Tranmere Rovers and Cheltenham Town – but it was his eight goals in 28(+6) appearances at the Abbey Stadium which saw him return to Cambridge United permanently in 2021.
At United, Smith has proven League One pedigree. He scored 35 goals across all competitions during just two seasons with Cambridge – making a staggering 88 (+21) appearances since making his debut in a varsity clash with Oxford on the opening day of the 2021-22 season. And he finished the season in fine goalscoring form, scoring in seven of the League One side’s last nine fixtures including the second in a 2-0 home win over Forest Green on the last day of the campaign. Out of contract at the end of that campaign, Smith opted to return to the Royals.
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are on sale at www.theposhtickets.com and via the Weston Homes Stadium Ticket Office, but there are only LIMITED tickets remaining. The GH Display Stand is open for Posh fans. Reading have sold just over 1,000 tickets for the game and will be accommodated in the away section of the Kings Power Solutions Stand.
POSH+
Video passes are available for overseas subscribers with audio passes available worldwide for this particular competition. Passes can be purchased below.
KIT COLOURS
Posh will be in the home kit for this game.
MATCH OFFICIAL
The referee is Scott Simpson.