It’s back to league action for the Royals after a second penalty win of the season, against Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday.

Reading looked OK in that game, giving those who don’t start in the first team some minutes, and there were a few that I think made cases to start in this one. Plus, a new signing of George Earthy will bolster the midfield to give Reading arguably the best front six in the league. 

AFC Wimbledon haven’t started the campaign great – similar to Reading it has been a loss in the league and two cup games that have gone to penalties. However, Wimbledon have only won one of their two shootouts, losing to Leyton Orient on Tuesday night.

Former Royal Andy Yiadom will be in the squad for the upcoming game alongside former wonderkid Steven Sessegnon in what is a very promising-looking Wimbledon side.

In this preview I will mention players who could find their way into the starting lineup, look at what Earthy gives to this Reading side and give my predictions on what the lineup could be. 

It’s matchday two in League One and the Royals travel to Wimbledon on Saturday August 22 at 3pm.

Recent results indicate that this will be a good game. The odds say Reading are narrow favourites but you can never write off the home team. It will be referee Michael Barlow who brings us into this one at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

It was a bit of a boring performance from both teams in midweek, but there were a few stand-out players. 

I thought Ashqar Ahmed had a great performance. He made seven defensive contributions as well as creating two chances. He had 83% pass completion and defensively he was solid. He could be our starting right-back for the upcoming few games.

Boyd Beacroft is another who, defensively, I thought had a great evening. He had the most defensive contributions in the match with 12. He also won six out of his seven ground duels and made six clearances. From the games we have seen this year, I think he has been our best centre-back. 

Emmanuel Osho had a good match too. He had two shots and both were on target, and should have probably scored. He made two successful dribbles (out of three) and was very good on the wing. I doubt he will make the starting 11 but he can definitely make an impact off the bench.

Finally, Liam Fraser had a great game. He is one I thought would be in the starting 11 anyway, but he took his goal really well, with 75 touches and seven passes into the final third. Defensively he had a great match as well: seven recoveries, four clearances and 100% of his aerial duels won. I think he will start over Andy Rinomhota this weekend.

These four were my stand-out players, and the first three show that our Category 1 academy is still coming on strong.

The 2004-born attacking midfielder has been at West Ham United almost his entire career, with two loan spells at Bristol City. He has made five appearances total for West Ham, scoring one goal in the process, as well as making 51 appearances for Bristol City, scoring three and assisting two.

It was his 2023/24 season with West Ham under-21s that caught my eye: 32 appearances, 14 goals and 11 assists. What a year that was and I hope he’s able to bring a season like that to the Royals. 

In his main season for Bristol City, when comparing him to others in his position, he is in the top percentages for goals, xG, xG on target, non-penalty xG, shots, shots on target, successful passes, touches in the opposition box and possession won in the final third.

He is very clearly a goalscoring midfielder and likes to have a crack at goal, which all of our midfielders do. But he seems to get it on target often, and with the goalkeepers in the league, I think he could score a few long-rangers, so Lewis Wing may have some competition.

He is also very two-footed. Being able to play from both feet gives so many more opportunities in the game.

He is a very exciting signing and I think he will be a big part of the squad.

Joel Pereira will start in goal. 

Ahmed, Beacroft, Paudie O’Connor and Jeriel Dorsett will be the back four.

Fraser and Wing will sit in front of the defence.

Daniel Kyerewaa, Earthy and Kyreece Lisbie will be the attacking three.

Sat in front of those three will be Jack Marriott.

Score prediction: 2-0 Reading!

Good luck to those going to the game! 

Come on you Royals! 

Will Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers be the best player to select at his position in fantasy football drafts this year?

Pro Football Focus’ Nic Bodiford touted Myers as being one of four candidates to finish as the overall fantasy football K1 in 2026 after his strong year last season.

”Myers’ excellent accuracy, coupled with head coach Mike Macdonald’s field goal affinity, should keep him in overall K1 contention.”

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates and Los Angeles Chargers star Cameron Dicker were all named as candidates along with Myers.

The 35-year-old Myers led the league in field goal attempts last season with 48, indicating how beneficial his usage is throughout the season. Myers finished with the second-most made field goals in the NFL last season with 41, though he went 9-12 on field goals from 50 yards out or more. He and went a perfect 48-48 on extra point attempts.

Myers was reliable for the Seahawks throughout the year and helped the team win the Super Bowl at the end of the season. More of the same may follow next season, and Myers remains a name to consider strongly in fantasy football drafts when it’s time to address the D/ST position.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Will Seahawks K Jason Myers be the best fantasy kicker option in 2026?

TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Houston Astros (64-64), who own a slim 1.0-game lead in the AL West over the Rangers, will open a huge three-game weekend series against the A’s (49-79) tonight at Daikin Park.

RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-1, 5.16 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season tonight and his first against the A’s, who are starting RHP J.T. Ginn (8-7, 3.53 ERA).

BIG WES: After missing 14 months with injury, RHP Hayden Wesneski has returned to the Astros rotation to make four starts, pitching into the 6th inning in three of four and recording two quality starts. This continues a strong run for Wesneski, who was great in his rehab outings, posting a 2.25 ERA (5ER/20IP) in five minor league rehab starts.

THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 44-33 since May 22, which is the second-best record in the AL in that span. On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.

THAT’S OFFENSIVE: Among American League teams, the Astros rank first in slugging (.410), first in total bases (1766), second in home runs (170), third in runs scored (583), and third in OPS (.727). In the Majors, the Astros rank third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (182) and Yankees (175).

WELCOME BACK JEFF!:2B Jeff Kent, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July, will throw out tonight’s ceremonial first pitch. Kent spent two (2003-04) of his 17 MLB seasons with the Astros, helping the 2004 Astros advance to the NLCS. Kent authored one of the most iconic moments in Astros postseason lore, as he hit a walk-off homer in Game 5 of the 2004 NLCS vs. STL.

ASTROS ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have recalled RHP Kai-Wei Teng from Triple A Sugar Land today after optioning LHP Bryan King to Triple A last night. also, announced yesterday, the club recalled IF Raynel Delgado from Triple A and designated OF Nelson Velázquez for assignment.

ON THE MEND: The Astros have four players on the Major League Injured List. There are updates on three:

• RHP Mike Burrows (rt. elbow neuritis) made his second rehab start at Triple A Sugar Land last night, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks with five strikeouts on 78 pitches.

• IF Carlos Correa (lt. ankle tendon injury) is participating in baseball activity, including a hitting and a running progression.

• OF Brice Matthews (lt. knee sprain) is participating in on-field baseball activity and a running progression.

MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez holds the lead in all AL Triple Crown categories, ranking first in average (.319), first in HR (36) and first in RBI (88). Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.045), OBP (.432), SLG (.613), and TB (279). In the AL, he ranks first in XBH (62), and second in hits (145), walks (87), and runs (84).

YOR-GONE!: DH Yordan Alvarez has hit 36 home runs this season, which leads the AL. He’s just one homer shy of matching his career high in homers, which was 37, hit in 2022.

HIT PAREDES: 3B Isaac Paredes has hit safely in nine of his last 12 games (since Aug. 7), including six multi-hit games, while batting .378 (17×45) with four doubles, one home run, seven RBI, and a .973 OPS in that span.

THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader has made 500 career appearances and is the 15th active pitcher to reach that milestone. Hader has been stellar since returning from injury in June, going 4-1 with a 0.87 ERA (3ER/31IP), 41 strikeouts, a .123 opponent average (13×106) and a 0.77 WHIP, while converting all 18 of his save chances in 32 appearances.

VS. THE A’S: The Astros are 3-3 against the A’s this season but have not seen them in over two months since they took two of three games in Houston from June 5-7. After this series, the two clubs will match up for a four-game series in Sacramento to end the regular season from Sept. 24-27.

DOWN ON THE FARM: Several of the Astros minor league clubs are having success this season:

• Triple A Sugar Land: In the second half, the Space Cowboys (33-15) are in first in the PCL East Division.

• Class A Fayetteville: For the second half, the Woodpeckers are in first place in the South Atlantic League North Division with a 29-20 (.583) record.

• Rookie Level FCL Astros: The Astros won the Florida Complex League championship, finishing with a 42-11 (.792) record in the regular season.

• Rookie Level DSL Astros: The DSL Astros Orange finished with a 33-20 record and clinched a spot in the DSL playoffs, which began yesterday.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1985 – Astros HOFer Phil Garner singles as a pinch-hitter in the Astros 8-3 loss to the Reds in the ‘Dome. This single gives Garner six straight hits in six straight AB as a pinch-hitter, which is a franchise record. Five other Astros have had streaks of five, most recently done by Morgan Ensberg in the 2003 season.

Game Info

Game Date/Time:  Friday, August 21, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location:  Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; ESPN Radio (National); TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Jamal Musiala’s return to fitness has been long and complicated.

First, Musiala endured a long spell on the sidelines after suffering a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle. Then, after earning valuable minutes at the World Cup, the 23-year-old suffered another unnerving setback, collapsing in Bayern’s Telekom Cup clash against RB Leipzig, and again in his side’s final preseason friendly against Heidenheim.

Despite overwhelming support for Musiala, rumours have started circulating linking Bayern to a replacement for Musiala after learning about his condition. However, according to Steffan Kumberger of Sport1 (via @iMiaSanMia), discussions about replacing the German international are a non-starter as the club plans to provide the time and support Musiala requires.

Signing a replacement for Jamal Musiala has never been up for discussion at the club. Bayern believe they’re very well equipped in the position with Ismael Saibari, who was signed when Bayern were already aware of Musiala’s problems, as well as Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl who can provide additional cover. In addition, the club does not want to give Musiala the feeling that they’re giving up on him. The 23-year old will get all the support and time he needs, and Bayern are also relaxed because the team had already performed exceptionally well without Musiala last season. Therefore, there’s no rush and no panic at the club – and Musiala can take his time and slowly regain a key role in the team.

Fans long for the day of seeing Bambi back to his brilliant best, prancing around bamboozled defenders. But some things are paramount to football.

Bayern Munich and it’s fans will be fully behind Musiala as he makes his recovery and return to full fitness.

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