Reading wary of Sunderland's 'good, youthful players,' says assistant boss Alex Rae

Reading assistant manager and former Sunderland favourite Alex Rae says his side must be wary of the Wearsiders' 'good, youthful players' this weekend.

The two sides will meet at the Stadium of Light, with the Berkshire club keen to avenge the 3-0 hammering at the hands of Sunderland at the Select Car Leasing Stadium earlier this season.

Rae enjoyed a brilliant spell at Sunderland as a player and he is looking forward to returning, but he is also plotting how to take the points home.

"They're actually in a good moment," Rae told the Reading YouTube channel. "They've got a lot of good, youthful players and they gave Fulham good game.

"So we have to be on our game and try to be as creative as we can, be aggressive.

"The one thing about the north east is that the fans are very passionate and they can become a real focal point, but we have to try and quieten them.

"We played them earlier on in the season and they had a very good result against us. So we are going to go there and try to give a better account of ourselves than we did that night."

Reading have a fine home record but have struggled on their travels, winning just three games of their 15 on the road so far this season.

That is the second worst away record in the division, but they will arrive in Sunderland with confidence after coming from two goals down to get a point at home to Watford last week.

"We're doing okay," Rae said. "We are feeling positive from last weekend, coming back from two down.

"If you look at [Sunderland's] form it's been a bit of a mixed bag, so we have to go there and be as positive as we can."

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