Reading

Sunday's match between Reading and QPR at Loftus Road may not be the most glamorous match on the EPL schedule this week, but it is one of the most important matches of the weekend.

Reading come into Sunday's match in better form, with three draws in their last four matches against Newcastle, Swansea and Fulham.

But, the Royals still have a bad taste in their mouth from Tuesday's Capital One Cup collapse against Arsenal, where they lost 7-5 in extra time.

After being up by four goals in the first half, Reading suffered a total collapse, giving up five unanswered goals before tying the match in extra time, only to give up two more goals in the 120th minute to secure a brutal loss at home.

Somehow, Brian McDermott and company now have to regroup and visit QPR on Sunday in a match that will be crucial in the relegation race.

A win on Sunday could catapult the club out of the relegation zone for now, and they have a chance to distance themselves from the bottom of the league table in the next month with five of their next seven EPL matches being against clubs placed below 15th in the table.

The key to Reading succeeding during that stretch of important matches, which also includes a home match with Everton and a trip to Old Trafford, will be Jobi McAnuff.

The club's captain has been their best player all season and has been a key contributor with four assists, which is only one less the league leaders, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata from Chelsea.

While the Jamaican has not scored a goal this season, the Royals have not had a problem in that department, with eight different players scoring the club's 11 goals this season.

However, the Royals have had trouble conceding goals, as they have given up the fourth-most goals of any EPL club, with 17, including seven in their last three EPL matches.

That statistic does not even include the seven they let in on Tuesday in the Capital One Cup loss to Arsenal.

The good news for Reading's defense is that their opponents on Sunday have only scored seven goals this season, which is tied for second-worst in the EPL.

Reading's trip on Sunday to Loftus Road will be a match they must be focused for, and although they suffered a tough loss on Tuesday, they have to focus on what matters the most to the club—surviving in the Premier League for another season.

That quest for survival starts on Sunday in their relegation battle with QPR.

Liverpool got a much-needed 1-0 win over Reading, a game in which they largely dominated.

With 25 shots to Reading's 10, and a 60-40 advantage in ball possession, Liverpool certainly earned this victory.

Two players who stood out for Liverpool would be Raheem Sterling and keeper Brad Jones.

Sterling scored the only goal of the match, while Brad Jones made some spectacular saves to keep Reading scoreless. Luis Suarez was also excellent, setting up Sterling's goal and getting a few chances of his own.

For Reading, keeper Alex McCarthy played a large role in Reading's ability to keep this match close. He had a tough task in dealing with the Liverpool attack, but managed seven saves in eight shots on goal.

Here are grades and highlights for the game's top players.

Raheem Sterling—B+

Sterling was dynamic today, scoring his first EPL goal and handling the ball very effectively.

Sterling's goal was picture-perfect, as he found space in the defense and put the ball precisely where it needed to be to get it past the keeper.

While Sterling didn't score again, he succeeded in consistently finding spaces in the defense and setting up the attack. He set up Daniel Agger for a chance to score, but Reading's solid defense stopped that advance.

All in all, Sterling was a top performer today, and he deserves a lot of credit for becoming a force in the EPL.

Luis Suarez—B

Suarez set up Sterling's goal with a superb pass, and he generally handled the ball very effectively today.

The only knock on Suarez was his inability to score on a very good chance. Still, he set up the attack well. He especially showed great chemistry with Sterling, something that Liverpool supporters have to be excited about.

Brad Jones—A

Liverpool could not ask for a better performance from its keeper. Jones saved all three of Reading's shots on goal. 

Jones was able to snuff out every advance by Reading, and he deserves credit for one of his best matches of the season.

Alex McCarthy—B+

Even though McCarthy gave up the deciding goal, he was otherwise excellent today. With seven saves, McCarthy constantly snuffed out exciting Liverpool advances.

With better defense, McCarthy very well could have come out a victor today, with this performance. Unfortunately, McCarthy was not helped much by the rest of his club, as they were thoroughly beaten by Liverpool for most of the match.

The excitement was there for newly-promoted Reading, taking a 2-2 tie into the final 10 minutes of regular time.

But the excitement was replaced by anger and discontent, as Fernando Torres was able to sneak in a rebound off of Reading keeper Adam Federici from a clear offside position.

Assistant referee Andy Halliday, a grad of Harvard business school, is the one being charged with the blatant flub.

The result was hardly celebrated by Torres, who waited for the offside to be called. But as the fans at Stamford Bridge kept screaming, it became more clear that the infraction wouldn't be called.

Federici made two saves in a row, only to have the third attempt hit in on a violation of the rules that wasn't even close.

Reading fans let their displeasure be heard for the rest of regular time and for the remaining five minutes of extra time, unable to watch their squad tie the game in desperation.

Reading manager Brian McDermott wasn't happy in the post-game press conference, but had cooled down some since he went livid on Halliday.

"It's just a shame really. I'm disappointed for the players. I'm gutted the linesman made a mistake for the third goal," McDermott said.

When asked whether or not he'd had a private conversation with Halliday yet, McDormott replied, "I've spoken to him, he said he'll look at it. He's a clear yard offside. The linesman will be disappointed with himself I'm sure."

It's moments just like this that have many EPL fans wanting some sort of instant replay implemented.

Goal-line technology has already been approved for future use by FIFA. This leaves many fans certain that replay to change calls is right around the corner, and could be used to change calls in a game like the one that effected the result on Wednesday night.

Chelsea did score again in the final moments of extra time after Federici had left goal in an attempt to help on a Reading corner kick.

But Federici would have had no reason to be out of goal had the game been called correctly.

Game officials did stick around to shake hands, but only two Reading players even bothered, offering complaints for the most part.

The win puts Chelsea atop the EPL table early in the season.

According to Sky Sports, Reading are closing in on the signature of Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak. 

He spent the second half of last season at Fulham, impressing in his first Premier League season by scoring six goals in just 12 games. 

However, the Russian hasn't been able to negotiate an extension to the contract which ended at the start of the month, and he has been keen to find a new English team to sign for. 

Following Reading's takeover by Anton Zingarevich's group, Thames Sport Investment, who control 51 percent of the club and have promised to strengthen the playing squad, the club now have the financial muscle to make signings such as this one. 

When gaining promotion last season, Reading didn't really have top goalscoring strikers like Southampton or West Ham, with Adam Le Fondre scoring the most goals with just 12. This, of course, means that changes have to be made and players brought in before the start of the season, and Pogrebnyak's signature would go a long way to correcting this issue. 

Despite remaining favourites for relegation this season, this is certainly a signing of intent from the Berkshire club. 

Having already signed Garath McCleary from Nottingham Forest, they are also heavily linked with Watford's Adrian Mariappa (Daily Star), Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez (Daily Mail) and former Royal Gylfi Sigurdsson (Daily Mail).

Don't expect this to be Reading's last signing of the summer. 

Ready for Reading? The Royals are back in the Premier League.

Reading secured promotion to the Barclay's Premier League on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the Madejski Stadium. With two matches left, Brian McDermott's Royals have 88 points, eight more than third-placed West Ham United.

The top two teams in the English League Championship advance automatically to next season's Premier League. The four teams placed third through sixth are entered into the playoffs for the third and final berth.

"It feels unreal, like I'm looking down on a different bloke managing Reading," McDermott told reporters after the match.

"It was incredible. It was a night for the supporters and the players."

Southampton currently sit second with 85 points, and are the only team still able to overtake Reading for the Championship title.

To secure automatic promotion, West Ham must win their final two matches and hope Southampton earn only one point or less. Birmingham City, Blackpool and Cardiff City currently occupy the other three playoff positions, with Middlesbrough four points off the pace.

Meanwhile, BBC pundit and retired footballer Robbie Savage praised Reading's season:

"Reading deserve Premier League football," he said. "It's been an amazing performance from them in the second half of the season.

They've got a fantastic manager and group of players and I'm absolutely delighted for Brian McDermott. He's a humble and fantastic man."

Next season will be Reading's third in the top flight of English football. The Royals won the Championship in 2005-06 with a record 106 points and spent the next two seasons in the Premier League.

In 2006-07, Reading finished eighth in the Premiership under manager Steve Coppell. The following season, they finished 18th and were relegated.

Reading lost the Championship playoff final to Swansea last season at Wembley. McDermott said the loss served as motivation this season.

"In the summer I didn't see too much good coming out of our defeat at Wembley. But I had great support from family, friends, they've sacrificed so much and I had to go through all that to get to where we are now."

The Championship regular season ends April 28. The playoff semifinals are scheduled for May 3-4 and 7-9, with the final scheduled for May 19 at Wembley.

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It has been four years since fans of Reading FC have seen their club in the Premier League.

That wait is about to be over barring a complete catastrophe at the Madejski Stadium.

The Royals currently sit atop the Championship table with 85 points, three points ahead of second place Southampton, and more importantly, nine points ahead of third place West Ham with three games to go.

That means that if Reading take one point out of their three remaining games, at home against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace and away on the final day of the season at Birmingham, they will clinch automatic promotion back into the Premier League.

The run to clinch the Championship title was made a bit easier on Friday as the Royals beat Southampton, 3-1 on the road to give the Royals their fifth straight win and 15th in their past 19 games.

Since the new year began, manager Brian McDermott has led his club to 46 points and they have cruised up to the top of the table and most likely into the top flight in England.

Reading has made this run as a team with no clear star player like past Championship winners QPR and Newcastle have had with Adel Taarabt and Andy Carroll as leading scorer Shane Long left the club in the summer for West Brom of the Premier League

The Royals have no goal-scorer totaling more than nine goals on the season and the roster is made up of players that have spent most of their careers in the lower tiers of English football.

Last time Reading won the Championship, they stayed in the Premier League for two years before being relegated with a club that featured Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Stephen Hunt and Nicky Shorey, all who have had productive careers in the Premier League with other clubs.

As the 2011-12 season winds down and Reading gets closer and closer to the Premier League, the celebration of winning the Championship title will last a while but the cluster of emotions that come along with life in the Premier League are about to re-enter the Madejski Stadium.

In an exclusive interview with Autosport, Formula 1 track designer Hermann Tilke jacks up the expectation level for the inaugural Korean Grand Prix.

A lot of it has to do with the already infamous asphalt, but some — or so he says — has to do with the track design.

Here’s the Q&A, and below are some excerpts. First, about that new surface:

Q. For Formula 1 fans who will turn on their television over the weekend to see the new Korean track – what sort of experience are they going to get?

HT: I think on Friday the track surface will be very, very slippery because it is brand new. That means you will probably see some spinning. And, it will not be easy to find the set-up for Saturday and Sunday because the track will change a lot. That means some drivers will make the wrong set-up choice, because you are going to have to second guess what is the right way to go.

Q. So it will be a little bit like Monaco where the track surface is changing all the time?

HT: It will be more extreme than that.

Q. There has been a lot of talk in the build-up to the weekend about the problems that could be caused by the asphalt being laid so late. Will that produce any problems in breaking up or rippling?

HT: No, it will not. The only problem it will cause – and to me that is not actually a problem – is in terms of grip. A lack of grip should not be a problem because we have the best drivers in the world here. Plus, it will be the same conditions for everybody. There will not a problem that the track will break up.

Q. Is it the oils in the asphalt that will make it slippery then?

HT: Not only the oils, but the bitumen chemicals in it. Normally with new asphalt over the first six months the chemicals on the top surface wear down to expose the stones – which is what produce the grip. Normally these stones are freely exposed on the surface, but here there is bitumen covering them. After some time that will be removed, the stones will be free and the track will have some grip. But that will not happen this weekend.

Q. So it could be a spectacular weekend then?

HT: Yes, especially at the beginning. After some practice the track will improve a lot, because they lay down their rubber, and that will produce some grip. But off the ideal line it will be very slippery – a big challenge for drivers.

OK, so to be a pessimist, that sounds like it could mean we’ll have a procession, if the drivers can’t risk going off line to pass. Of course, if there is some upsets during qualifying, that could force some drivers to take that risk, but we’ll have to see. If whoever gets on pole gets a good start, it seems like it could race off into the distance. But maybe lapped traffic will have a big role?

But Tilke also is insisting the track will be exciting once the circuit really is “set”:

Q. What about the characteristics of the layout? What can you tell us about that?

HT: Here parts of the track are to be like a city track – but without a city at the moment. That means it is narrow, and everything is close to the circuit. Other parts of it are permanent with fast corners, and I think it will be interesting to drive.

Q. Which parts of the track will be good for racing then?

HT: The first section will be good for overtaking and will be more of a spectacle- especially the long straight and the braking at the end of it. In terms of driving and the challenge of that, the permanent part will be more interesting.

Q. So where the walls are quite close to the track, that is where the city section will eventually be?

HT: Yes, theoretically right behind the walls will be a pedestrian area. It will be like a normal city, but at the moment the walkway is not there – because the city is not there.

This whole “the city isn’t there yet” aspect is fascinating. And it could never be there, right? Can anyone not imagine development just stopping around the track, F1 holding a few races there and then this gigantic failure — and huge money pit — just sit there for decades?

So, what are your expectations about the track? And does anyone want to predict the circuit’s long-term future?