Reading are wary of coming up against a “well-drilled” Nottingham Forest outfit when they make the trip to the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.
The Reds have suffered back-to-back defeats, being beaten at home to Luton Town last Tuesday night and then falling by the same 1-0 scoreline at Watford on Saturday.
But prior to that, they had lost just twice in 15 league games.
A sloppy goal cost them against the Hornets at Vicarage Road, although their biggest issue remains at the opposite end of the pitch, where finding the back of the net continues to be a problem.
But Royals skipper Liam Moore says he expects to face a Forest side which will prove difficult to break down, as he singled out boss Chris Hughton for praise.
"It’s been good to have a clear week for training, and we’re preparing well like we always do,” Moore told Reading’s official website.
"We’re expecting a really tough match, but hopefully we can get the three points there. It’ll be a really hard game, Chris Hughton is a very good manager.
"He gets his teams really well drilled, and makes them hard to play against.
“They’ll cause us some problems so we need to be ready for that, and counteract it by causing them more problems."
Hughton’s side sit in 17th place in the table, with an eight-point cushion between themselves and the bottom three.
Their clash with the Royals is part of a tough-looking run of fixtures against teams challenging at the top end, with Norwich City, Brentford and Cardiff City to come.
Reading are in fifth spot and head Trentside on the back of a three-match winning streak.
"Hopefully we can get through to the international break with maximum points, but Nottingham Forest have our full attention this week,” Moore added.
