Joey van den Berg and Mo Barrow are both expecting a tough proposition away at Preston North End on Saturday afternoon.

Barrow and van den Berg both started Tuesday night's 2-1 victory against Aston Villa at Madejski Stadium, with Barrow getting on the scoresheet in netting his first Reading goal.

Royals go into the weekend's game unbeaten since the opening day defeat against Queens Park Rangers, with Jaap Stam and his side hoping to extend this good run of form.

While this will Barrow's first visit to Deepdale as a player, he is keeping his mind solely focussed on his impact on the pitch.

He said: "I've never played against Preston before, so I don't know what to expect but I attack every game. I go in with the same mentality, and I think that's the most important thing.

"I'm enjoying myself every game, there has been great support for the squad and for me. I'm really happy every time I get out knowing it's game day."

As for Van den Berg, he was one of the starting line-up that unfortunately lost 3-0 at Deepdale last season, but he is hoping for better fortune in the new season.

"That was last season, we can't be looking back to last season any more," the midfielder said. "It's a new season, it's a difficult game of course but we go there with confidence.

"We're not that hard a squad to fit in with, we try to make new players as comfortable as possible to fit in the team. 

"That's what you need, I think. With our togetherness, we have to be strong in it and keep everybody together."