Preview | Football returns to Reading with Saints’ visit this Saturday!

Some of the key info ahead of the Royals’ first RG2 fixture in pre-season

The pre-season schedule is well underway… this Saturday’s fixture against Southampton offers another fantastic chance to put ideas into practice and to get important minutes into the legs of our first-team squad.

Rubén Sellés takes to the home dugout for the first time; the likes of Harvey Knibbs could make his first appearance on home turf as a Royal, and Sam Smith could be in the hoops again for the first time since 2018 after rejoining this week!

So there’s plenty of reason to be here this weekend and support the team… and below is some of the key info you need to get ready for the match.

Tickets

• Advance: £10 Adults, £5 all Concessions
• Matchday (from 11am): £15 Adults, £8 all Concessions

All seating for home supporters is unreserved in the Sir John Madejski Stand. Please note that Season Ticket holders will not have the option to add this game to their access card; however Google/Apple Wallet, print-at-home and paper tickets will all be available.

Parking

Seasonal Parking Permits are not valid for this game but parking can be pre-booked for £5 until four hours before kick-off. Remaining spaces will be available on the day at a price of £10.

Car Park 6 (old greyhound stadium) is also available at the price of £5 advance or £8 on the day.

All on-site payments are card only.

Travel

Reading Buses will be operating the F1 shuttle bus service between Reading Station at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. For more information, click here to visit the Reading Buses page for this fixture. 

RoyalsTV

Can’t make the match? We’ll be streaming the fixture live on RoyalsTV worldwide.

A Match Pass costs £5 and allows supporters access to full four-camera coverage with commentary.

So if you can’t come down to RG2, grab a pass to support your side on Saturday using the link below.

The opposition

Similarly to the Royals, the Saints suffered relegation last season as their 11-year stint in the Premier League came to an end. Russell Martin, formerly boss of Swansea City, is in charge of the rebuild on the south coast.

There haven't been too many ins and outs so far for the Saints - in the past fortnight, Man City duo Shea Charles and Josh McNamara have made a move to St Mary's, along with Derrick Abu (Chelsea) and Ryan Manning (Swansea).

Their season kicks off a day before ours - they get started in the Championship on Friday 4 August, when they travel to Sheffield Wednesday to battle for three points in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

So far, Southampton have also played a pair of friendlies; they were defeated 2-0 by Benfica at St George's Park, before Carlos Alcaraz grabbed the equaliser in a 1-1 draw away at Turkish side Göztepe last weekend.