Reading FC backed by largest crowd for a year in final home game

The Latics sit bottom of the Championship, three points behind the Royals, but more importantly a win would lift Noel Hunt's side out of the relegation zone (perhaps only temporarily) ahead of the trip to 21st Huddersfield Town on the final day.

Crowds have been on the rise since Noel Hunt's introduction as manager, with more than 19,000 at the 1-1 draw with Burnley a fortnight ago, but the 20,000 mark is set to be hit with three days until the match.

The fans really have stepped us this season! Approaching the first 20k crowd for over a year (five years for a non celebratory fixture). Hats off to you all. Still a few days to pick up a ticket for those who are still undecided. Nothing short of a win will do #readingfc

— James Earnshaw (@james_e1871) April 26, 2023

Club 1871, extended by an extra 400 seats for the match due to Wigan's low take up, has already completely sold-out.

It is set to be the first 20,000+ crowd since February 2022 when over 22,000 attended the 150th anniversary celebration match, a 3-2 defeat to Coventry City.

The last regular fixture, non-event day, to hit the milestone was a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in March 2018.

🗣️ We're calling on everyone at Saturday's game to cover the SCL in blue and white – shirts, scarves, whatever you've got.
The more blue and white, the better!

🔵⚪️🔵⚪️🔵⚪️🔵⚪️🔵⚪️🔵⚪️🔵⚪️#readingfc pic.twitter.com/RanT7vATAH

— Supporters’ Trust At Reading (@STARReading) April 24, 2023

Supporters Trust at Reading are calling on all those attending to deck out in blue and white to make it a special sight at the SCL Stadium.

Away support has increased in recent weeks too, with over 1,500 travelling to Coventry on Saturday for the 2-1 defeat, while over 2,300 tickets were snapped up for the final day trip to Yorkshire inside 24 hours.