Last weekend’s 6-1 loss to Birmingham City not only condemned Reading to their tenth Championship defeat of the season but also resulted in Nigel Adkins being sacked by the club.

In addition to the heavy defeat at St Andrews, Adkins’ Reading have only managed seven wins from 21 games and currently sit in 16th position in the table - ten points adrift from the playoff places.

Reading have acted quickly to install a replacement for Adkins, who had been in charge of the Royals for 20 months.

They have appointed former West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Clarke on a two and a half year deal. Clarke, who also had coaching roles at Chelsea and Liverpool, will make his managerial debut for the club against Watford.

Prior to the departure of Adkins, Reading had struggled defensively in the league. They have kept just three clean sheets since the end of September, two of which came in 0-0 draws.

In addition, their tally of ten losses is only beaten by Blackpool (12), and the club have let in three or more goals this season a total of seven times; a feat only equalled or better by Huddersfield Town.

Despite the leaky defence, Reading have not fared too poorly at home with five of the club’s seven league victories coming at The Madejski Stadium.

Their league results have also shown impressive victories over Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough, coming in home and away games respectively.

Leading the club’s scoring charts is striker Simon Cox, who joined the club from Nottingham Forest in the summer for an undisclosed fee.

Cox came through the academy at Reading before being sold to Swindon in 2008. However, he has netted seven times since his return to the club, closely followed by Glenn Murray who has six goals to his name.

Aside from their Championship matches, Reading have managed to progress to the third round of the Capital One Cup with wins over Newport County and Scunthorpe United before bowing out with a 2-0 defeat to Derby County.

In the upcoming FA Cup, Reading will travel to fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town.

Against Watford, The Royals managed to record home and away victories last season; winning 1-0 at Vicarage Road and 3-2 at The Madejski Stadium.

The last time the Hornets were successful against Reading away from home was in the 2011/12 campaign; with goals from Mark Yeates and John Eustace completing up a 2-0 victory in Berkshire.

Reading team vs Birmingham City (13/12/14): Federici; Kelly, Hector, Cooper, Gunter; McCleary, Norwood, Williams, Obita; Cox, Murray.