Read on for full details of what the Royals can expect against Plymouth.
Plymouth Argyle
2024-25 season
The Pilgrims will be making a return to League One for the first time in two years following their relegation from the Championship last season. Argyle ended 23rd in the Championship, with 46 points from 11 wins, 13 draws, and 22 losses. Plymouth may have struggled in the league, but they pulled off two major cup upsets, defeating Premier League Brentford and eventual Premier League Champions Liverpool. Ryan Hardie was Argyle’s highest goalscorer last season, with 12 goals.
Stadium
Home Park, known to Argyle fans as “The Theatre Of Greens” has been The Pilgrims home since 1903. The Royals supporters haven’t visited Home Park since 2019 where the Royals ran out 4-2 winners. The stadium has had a few outstanding live music concerts, including Elton John, George Michael, and Rod Stewart singing live at the ground, with Take That most recently performing in 2024.
Memorable Game
Plymouth 2-4 Reading (August 27th, 2019) Yakou Meite scored twice during the Royals’ stunning League Cup comeback in 2019. Ryan Taylor and former Everton striker Jose Baxter scored twice to put the Royals 2-1 down. Josh Barrett leveled for the Royals twice, cutting in from the left side and hitting the top corner, before La Brute converted an 87th-minute penalty and completed a fantastic move in stoppage time to seal the victory.
Club links
Former Wales International and Reading Academy product Simon Church completed his career with the Pilgrims in 2018, making two appearances before being ruled out for the rest of the season due to a hip injury. From 2007 to 2013, Church appeared in 104 games with The Royals, scoring 22 goals. In 2009, he made his Reading debut in the second leg of the play-off semi-finals against Burnley. Jamie Mackie made 98 appearances for the boys in green between 2008 and 2010. Argyle had to turn down offers from Bristol City, Norwich, and Bristol Rovers before signing the Dorking-born striker for £145,000. Mackie joined the Royals on loan from Nottingham Forest in 2014, when he contributed to a memorable night in the club’s history when he scored the third goal in a 3-0 triumph over Bradford in an FA Cup Quarter-Final replay, propelling us to our first FA Cup Semi-final since 1927.
The manager
Miron Muslic joined Argyle in January 2025 following his dismissal from Cercle Brugge in December 2024. The Bosnian-born manager has suffered a rough start to life in Devon, winning only 8 of his 23 competitive matches in command for a win percentage of just 34.8%.
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