Championship leaders Newcastle United face a third successive promotion-hopeful in Reading on Tuesday night as they make the trip to the Madejski Stadium (8pm kick-off).

Rafa Benitez’s men last Tuesday beat Brighton 2-1 at the AMEX Stadium to go to the top of the division, and they backed that up with an equally-impressive 3-1 success at in-form Huddersfield on Saturday.

It means that the Magpies go into tomorrow’s clash in Berkshire 11 points clear of the Terriers in third, and with Chris Hughton’s Brighton losing at Nottingham Forest, they now have a five-point lead over the Seagulls in second.

However, it won’t be easy against a Reading side that picked up their 19th win of the campaign on Saturday courtesy of a 2-1 success over struggling Wolves.

Jaap Stam’s men are fifth in the Championship and have only lost twice at home in the league all season, with Aston Villa and QPR the only sides to have taken maximum points off the Royals on their own turf.

Nonetheless, Newcastle will be confident of a third straight win on Tuesday night, although their recent excursions could see Benitez shuffle his pack against the Royals.

Thus, here are THREE players who deserve a chance against Reading on Tuesday…

DeAndre Yedlin

Right-back DeAndre Yedlin has made 18 Championship starts for Newcastle this season following his permanent move from Tottenham in the summer.

Yet he lost his place in the side to Vernon Anita against Huddersfield on Saturday, and he will hope that Anita’s solid if unspectacular display in a makeshift role means that he returns against Reading on Tuesday night.

With Roy Beerens and Garath McCleary down the flanks, Benitez will likely need Yedlin’s greater defensive capabilities and pace against the Royals, so it wouldn’t be overly surprising if he came back into the side at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday.

Ayoze Perez

Ayoze Perez came off the bench to bag the crucial second goal in their 2-1 victory over Brighton last week, yet didn’t get a chance to build on that against Huddersfield as he was once again left on the bench.

However, having already played two away games in five days, and another to come in quick succession, Benitez may need to freshen things up in the attacking department, so the 23-year-old may get his 18th start of the campaign on Tuesday.

The Spaniard has scored six goals and laid on five assists for the Magpies in the Championship this term, with his strike against Brighton indicative of his predatory instincts in the box, as it was he who had the intelligence to check his run to make space for himself.

With two goals and an assist in his last three league appearances, Perez deserves a chance from the start against Reading.

Dwight Gayle

Dwight Gayle came off the bench to bag his 21st Championship goal of the season in the win at Huddersfield on Saturday, and will certainly be pushing for a start at Reading on Tuesday.

The former Peterborough and Crystal Palace forward missed a month of action earlier in the year due to a hamstring injury sustained against Brentford on January 14, and felt a recurrence of that in their 2-0 success over Aston Villa a few weeks back.

However, the 26-year-old looked fresh and ready to play when coming off the bench against the Terriers, capitalising on an error from goalkeeper Joel Coleman to seal the win for Newcastle.

If he’s fit, Gayle will surely start against a Reading side that have only lost twice at home all season.