Reading need to beat league-leaders Chelsea on the final day to avoid relegation to the Championship.
Beaten 4-1 by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, the Royals sit bottom of the Women's Super League table heading into the final round of fixtures.
Leicester City, the only side within catching distance, face 10th-place Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
Speaking after the game, which had been described as a 'Cup final', boss Kelly Chambers admitted the odds are stacked against them.
"Obviously in football you can never say never, but I’m a realist, and when you look at the table, form, you can expect how certain results will go," said Chambers.
"Many have said over the years this is perhaps a position we should have found ourselves in a while back, but it’s credit to the staff and players who have been here a while giving everything. But we’ve seen with the growth of the women’s game, the injection of finances available, and there comes a point where you just cannot keep up.
“So when you reflect on all of these factors, over the course of a season, it’s really difficult, I’m hurting, we’re all hurting, but I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason so we’ll see what happens.”
Relegation for the women, twinned with the men's drop into League One, will mark a disasterous season for supporters in Berkshire.
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