Town boss Roy Keane will be looking for his side to secure their Championship status during an Easter period in which they face Reading at home and then Derby County away. The Blues manager expects two very tricky matches as his 16th-placed side seek to finally drag themselves away from the relegation fight.
Keane said: "We’ve got two tough games coming up. Reading are the form team in the Championship and Derby’s home record isn’t far behind the likes of Newcastle and Forest, so they are two very tough games for us, but we’re looking forward to it.
"The players responded well last weekend to the disappointment of our previous home game, but we know we’re going to give our all tomorrow and we’ll see where that takes us.
"We just hope that if we get the opportunities, like we have been doing, that we’ll stick the ball in the back of the net because, as we keep saying, that’s been our big problem all season.”
The Blues boss has been impressed with Reading’s rise up the table under new boss Brian McDermott: "They’ve been doing very well, not just in the league but also the FA Cup against some very good teams in the Premiership.
"They’ll be coming here with momentum and that’s what you need to have at this time of the season.
"We’re looking forward to it, they score plenty of goals, they’ve got players in form, but we’re looking to get a good performance and a good result ourselves because we need it as much as Reading.”
Keane says he saw indications of their revival when Town were at the Madejski Stadium in November: "They were struggling when we played them earlier in the season but you could see the signs were there. I know [former manager] Brendan Rodgers well and I think they were making progress even if perhaps they weren’t getting the results.
"What helps is that they’ve started putting the ball in the back of the net and that’s obviously got them right up the table. Credit to their players and their new manager for that.
"They’ve got some very, very good players. They’ve got pace in the right areas and they’ve got boys putting the ball in the back of the net and it makes a big difference to your team if you’ve got players with confidence scoring goals.”
Keane, who reports no new injuries amongst his squad with David Norris and Grant Leadbitter over minor knocks sustained at Swansea, is likely to continue to look to Daryl Murphy to score Town’s goals but with Pablo Couñago or David Healy set to join him up front as the Blues revert to a two-man frontline having played 4-5-1 at Swansea last week.
Couñago will probably get the nod ahead of Healy having been Keane’s preferred choice in recent weeks. Connor Wickham, facing the club he was with as an academy schoolboy before joining Town, is likely to be on the bench having played the whole game for England’s U17s on Thursday, scoring his second goal in two matches during his time away with the international squad.
Shane O’Connor was used at left midfield last week but will probably move to his more usual left-back role in place of Jaime Peters on Saturday as the Blues switch back to a four-man midfield.
Jack Colback is likely to be on the left with Grant Leadbitter and David Norris in the centre and skipper Jon Walters on the right.
Damien Delaney and Gareth McAuley will be in the centre of the defence, O’Connor probably on the left with David Wright currently getting the nod ahead of Liam Rosenior - on loan from Reading but eligible to face his parent club - on the right.
Brian Murphy will continue in goal with Arran Lee-Barrett still Keane’s preferred keeping option on the bench despite Richard Wright’s return to fitness.
Reading are making a late surge for the play-offs, having pushed up to 11th in the table, five places and four points ahead of the Blues but having played two fewer games. They are unbeaten in their last eight league matches and have an away record of won seven, drawn three and lost nine this season.
Manager Brian McDermott is determined that his side keep their impetus going during the Easter period: "We've got two big games coming up over Easter against Ipswich Town and Coventry City and we want to do ourselves justice.
"I still feel we have momentum behind us and that there is a lot more to come from my players. I've felt that since day one and we're still seeing it now every week on the pitch.
"Teams are showing us a lot of respect and we're confident going into every game, which is a great feeling to have."
McDermott says he’s not getting carried away with thoughts of a late season play-off dash: "People can talk about the play-offs as much as they like, it's really not an issue for me.
"It's fine for people and fans to do that and it's only natural I suppose. If I was a fan I'd probably be doing the same.
"But our job is to stay focused on the task in front and to take each game as it comes. Trouble normally starts when you look too far ahead. Our only thoughts at the moment are of beating Ipswich and nothing else.
"If we can win at Ipswich and then beat Coventry at home on Monday we will see where that takes us, and we love playing at the Madejski Stadium.
"Ipswich is also a great venue. I loved going there as a player and a scout and with 20,000 fans, the atmosphere will be terrific."
Full-back Chris Armstrong is out with a knee injury, while midfielder Kalifa Cisse is on the way back after a thigh problem but won’t play against Town.
Striker Noel Hunt has undergone surgery for a knee injury, while Icelandic international Ivar Ingimarsson is out for the season after a hamstring operation.
Midfielder Marek Matejovsky missed the 1-1 draw at home to West Brom last Saturday due to a stomach injury and is set to undergo surgery. Jay Tabb also missed out against the Baggies due to an ankle problem but is back for Saturday’s game.
Town have had the edge over the Royals over the years, winning 21 times (20 in the league), drawing nine (nine) and losing 14 (14).
At the Madejski Stadium earlier in the season, Town inched off the bottom of the Championship table after a 1-1 draw. Jon Stead put the Blues ahead in the first half but Simon Church equalised for the home side just after the break.
Last season the Blues did the double over the Berkshire club, Jon Stead and Jon Walters netting the goals in a 2-0 win at Portman Road and Stead overhead-kicking in the winner in a 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium.
Liam Rosenior is currently on loan from Reading to Town, while Connor Wickham was a schoolboy with the Royals academy before his father, a serviceman, was posted to Colchester and he joined the Blues’ youth set-up.
On-loan striker Kevin Lisbie also spent a brief loan spell with Reading when a Charlton player in 1999. No current member of Brian McDermott’s squad has previously played for Town.
Saturday’s referee is Keith Stroud from Hampshire, who has shown 80 yellow and eight red cards in 21 games so far this season. His most recent Town match was the 1-0 win at Derby in December 2008 when he booked four players — Ivan Campo and Gareth McAuley from the Blues and two Rams — and sent off Derby’s Jordan Stewart.
Squad from: B Murphy, Lee-Barrett, R Wright, D Wright, Rosenior, O’Connor, Peters, Delaney, McAuley, Smith, Leadbitter, Norris, Colback, Garvan, Walters, Edwards, Martin, D Murphy, Couñago, Healy, Wickham.