Dean Smith's men next up in RG2...
It’s our second home match in four days tonight as we welcome Norwich City to the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
We will kick off against the Canaries on Tuesday, 4th October, 8pm kick off, as we look to build on Saturday’s win over Huddersfield Town.
So ahead of the game, here is your big preview for Matchday 12…
Tickets
The quickest and easiest way to get tickets is to buy online using the link below. Our Ticket Office at the Select Car Leasing Stadium will be open from 5 pm on matchday until half-time to visit in person.
Prices start for as little as £18 for an adult, with membership, and 12 and under for £2, with membership, with other concessions also available to purchase.
Below are some further notes on ticketing processes...
Google Wallet & Apple Wallet
After purchasing your ticket, open your Google/Apple Wallet confirmation email on your device and press either 'Google Wallet - Save to phone' or 'Add to Apple Wallet' button - this will download your ticket. NB. these tickets can only be sent to a wallet once so please ensure these are downloaded onto the device you wish to use it on.
If supporters have selected Google Wallet or Apple Wallet for their ticket, they should be reminded to download their ticket to their phone in advance. The below guide explains how to do this and how to use it.
Guide: Using Google Wallet & Apple Wallet
Print At Home
If supporters have selected Print At Home, they need to be pre-folded before reaching the turnstile. Please refer to the video below
Collections
If you need to collect, then we advise to arrive as early as possible as we have more collections than usual. Ticket Office doors will open from 5 pm on matchday.
Cashless Stadium
A reminder that we now operate as a cashless stadium.
Buy your tickets now
TRAVEL
There are no road works concerning the M4 motorway for this evening's game.
CAR PARKING
On-site car parking is available for this week's game, as well as in Car Park 6 (The old Greyhound Stadium).
We recommend pre booking for here or use the designated Park & Ride facilities at Mereoak and Wood at Shirehall.
Click here to purchase your parking for the game.
Click here to be directed to the travel and parking section of the website to see how best you can get to the game this weekend.
Buses
Please be aware that Reading Buses' 'Football Buses' services are back in full operation.
ROYALSTV
A reminder that our Season and Monthly subscriptions are available for RoyalsTV – fans in the UK/Ireland can get hold of Audio packages (£4.49 per calendar month, or £45 for the remainder of the season), while overseas supporters can get Video packages which cover eligible Sky Bet Championship fixtures (£25 per calendar month, or £170 for the entire season). This fixture is a co-exclusive broadcast available on Sky Sports Arena and Royals TV.
Additionally, the following Match Passes are available for this fixture:
- Audio Match Pass (£2.50) | Worldwide
- Video Match Pass (£10) | Worldwide
See our available subscriptions
The opposition
Norwich City were founded in 1902 but it would be 18 years before they became members of the Football League upon the creation of the Third Division in 1920, along with the Royals.
1934 was the year of their first promotion but after five seasons their first season back in the third tier was abandoned following the outbreak of the Second World War.
The East Anglian side had their best showing in the FA Cup in 1959 when they reached the semi finals but were beaten 1-0 by Luton Town in a replay at St Andrew’s.
The next few years proved successful as Archie Macaulay oversaw promotion back to the second tier before his successor Willie Reid led them to League Cup glory in 1962.
Following a dozen seasons playing in Division Two the Canaries won the league to take their place in the top flight for the first time in 1972.
A strong showing in the League Cup continued with two finals and a semi-final being reached between 1973 and 1975, whilst also earning promotion following relegation also in this period.
1981 and 1985 brought further demotions from the First Division but the blow of the second was softened with a second League Cup victory against Sunderland.
The Division Two title was won for a second time the following year, with Mike Walker’s side becoming founder members of the Premier League in 1992.
The East Anglian side achieved their highest ever league finish the next year, with that third place finish bringing qualification for the UEFA Cup.
It proved to be a memorable run, with a 3-0 aggregate win over Vitesse Arnhem setting up a Second Round tie with Bayern Munich.
They became the first British side to win away to the German giants, thanks to a winner from our Head of Football Operations Mark Bowen, before Inter Milan defeated them in the Third Round.
However, they were relegated once more in 1995 before Nigel Worthington steered Norwich to the second tier title in 2004 but they went down due to a 6-0 defeat on the final day at Fulham.
2009 saw third tier football return to Norfolk for the first time since 1960 but under former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Paul Lambert the club had a renaissance.
Successive promotions were earned, in part down to 45 goals from Grant Holt, to begin a three year stint in the top flight, but the Scot departed for Aston Villa after a 12th place finish in the first season .
The 2013-14 season began a sequence of yo yoing for the Canaries with four relegations from and three promotions to the Premier League, with the most recent of those movements occurring last season when Dean Smith’s side slipped through the top flight trapped door.
One point from the opening three matches was followed by six successive wins against Huddersfield Town, Millwall, Sunderland, Birmingham City, Coventry City and Bristol City before a draw with West Brom ended the run.
The Canaries arrive in Berkshire off the back off a trip to the Fylde Coast on Saturday, where they beat hosts Blackpool 1-0 thanks to a Teemu Pukki strike to keep them second in the league.
One to watch: Josh Sargent
Missouri born Josh Sargent, joined Norwich City in the summer of 2021 ahead of their top flight campaign, for a undisclosed fee from Werder Bremen.
Having had training with the likes of PSV Eindhoven and Schalke, he joined Bremen in January 2018. He made his international debut for the USA that summer in a 2-1 defeat to a Republic of Ireland side that included a certain Jeff Hendrick, before scoring in a 1-1 draw with Peru.
He then made a scoring debut for his club that December against Fortuna Dusseldorf and went on to make 10 Bundesliga appearance in 2018-19.
Four goals followed the next season as he became a regular in the side before netting seven in 2020-21 including in three successive games to help Werder to seven points against Eintracht Frankfurt, Cologne and Arminia Bielefeld.
However following relegation and grabbing two goals in a 3-2 win over Dusseldorf in July 2021, he joined the Canaries, then managed by German Daniel Farke.
Following defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City, he scored his first goals in a yellow shirt in their 6-0 League Cup win over AFC Bournemouth, but he would have to wait 19 matches to get off the mark in the Premier League.
That came in January at Watford as he bagged a brace in a 3-0 win that saw them escape the relegation zone for the first time that season however, they were only able to pick up one further win and finished bottom.
Sargent has had a bright start to life in the Championship, leading their scoring charts with six goals in the seven games preceding the international break to help the Canaries to second in the table, before jetting off to earn his 20th cap in the USA’s defeat to Japan last week.
Head to Head
The Royals are two wins behind the Canaries overall, with 31 of the 79 meetings going the way of the visitors, as opposed to our 29.
1909 was the first time the teams locked horns, with three meetings required to find a winner, with Norwich eventually coming out on top 3-2 after 0-0 and 1-1 draws and progress to the second round.
Our best run of results against the East Anglian outfit came when we racked up four successive wins with home and away wins in 2005-06 and 2008-09.
RG2 was the scene of our last win against Tuesday’s opponents, with goals from Yann Kermorgant, Garath McCleary and Callum Harriott securing a 3-1 victory on Boxing Day 2016.
We last met the Canaries in 2020-21 who did the double over us as they earned promotion to the Premier League.
Ref Watch
The Football League have confirmed that Darren Bond will oversee our clash with Dean Smith’s side, being the 17th occasion he will be in charge of a Royals fixture, but his first since our trip to Kenilworth Road to take on Luton Town in the FA Cup in January 2021.
Bond has been refereeing in the Football League since 2012-13 with his first match being Burton Albion’s 6-2 win over AFC Wimbledon.
His first Reading match was a 1-0 win away to Middlesbrough in August 2014 as Simon Cox scored the only goal of the game at the Riverside.
The Lancashire based Official, has overseen ten matches this season in the Championship, awarding 37 yellow cards but no red cards so far.
Bond will be assisted by Pilip Dermott and Matthew Smith whilst John Busby will act as fourth official.