READING
Pre-Season Match, Select Car Leasing Stadium, Saturday 16 July 2022, 3pm BST
West Ham United contest the fourth of seven pre-season matches ahead of the 2022/23 campaign at EFL Championship side Reading on Saturday afternoon.
This weekend's game marks the second summer in succession that the Hammers have visited the Select Car Leasing Stadium, with David Moyes' team running out 3-0 winners there in July 2021.
The Irons have made an unbeaten start to their preparations for the new season with a 2-0 win at Swiss Super League side Servette last Friday followed by a 2-1 victory at EFL League One outfit Ipswich Town and 1-1 draw at National League Boreham Wood in a double-header on Tuesday evening.
None of those games featured the Club's senior international players, who returned at the end of last week, but they could feature as Moyes' squad face off against a Reading side managed by Academy of Football graduate and former West Ham and England midfielder Paul Ince.
The Royals finished 21st in the Championship last season, but will hope to mount a stronger challenge in the upcoming campaign.
Tickets…
West Ham United have been allocated 2,102 tickets for Tuesday's game in Berkshire. You can find full ticket information here, with seats priced at £10 for Adults and £5 for O65s/18-24s, U18s and U13s.
How to get there…
The Select Car Leasing Stadium is a simple ground to reach for West Ham United supporters travelling from London and Essex.
If you have a sat nav, enter the postcode RG2 0FL. Otherwise, take the M25 to the M4, then head west to Junction 11. Follow signs towards Reading. The Select Car Leasing Stadium is on your left-hand side after less than a mile.
Matchday parking permits are available in Car Park 3 Red Zone priced at £10 in advance or £15 on matchday (subject to availability). For details of this, and Disabled parking, click here or call 0118 968 1313.
By train, head to Reading station from London Paddington. From there, the 50A Greenwave Park & Ride bus takes you directly to the Stadium, with an average journey time less than 10 minutes. Alternatively, a taxi from the railway station or town centre to the Select Car Leasing Stadium should cost approximately £10.
Where to stay…
If you're travelling by train, you'll arrive in Reading town centre, and you can also stay overnight in one of the many chain hotels situated there.
If you opt to stay in one of those, you'll be within walking distance of the bars and restaurants and also the Park & Ride bus to the stadium.
What to do…
In or near the town centre, you could visit Reading Museum or explore the Abbey Quarter and the Abbey Ruins or take a stroll through Forbury Gardens or along the Oracle Riverside. Reading's nightlife revolves around Friar Street and Gun Street, with pubs, bars, restaurants and more to enjoy.
Further afield, you could visit the Museum of English Rural Life, which is situated south east of the town centre, or take a cruise along the River Thames, which flows north of the centre.
What’s happened there before…
We've visited Reading nearly 30 times for competitive fixtures since our first as Thames Ironworks in September 1899, when Reading ran out 1-0 winners at their old Elm Park ground.
After meeting regularly in the Southern League until 1915, we also visited in the War-Time leagues during both World Wars, and twice in the Southern Floodlit Cup in 1956 and 1958.
We then lost on penalties in a League Cup second-round tie at the Madejski Stadium (now Select Car Leasing Stadium) in September 2001, before finally making our first league visit in April 2004, losing 2-0 in the old Division One.
Our most-recent competitive visit was also a forgettable one as we lost 1-0 in the Premier League in December 2012, although Reading would be relegated at the end of the same 2012/13 season.
As mentioned in the introduction, we were at the Select Car Leasing Stadium a year ago, when a Jeriel Dorsett own-goal and second half strikes from Conor Coventry and Ben Johnson secured a 3-0 victory for David Moyes' men.
