On Saturday, Reading prepare to renew acquaintances with the FA Cup third round after last year's exit at Eastleigh in round two.

Scott Parker brings his Championship high-flying Burnley team to Berkshire for the first time since 2023, a game which saw Noel Hunt's side earn a 0-0 draw with the runaway league leaders to ensure the club's 106-point record remained in tact.

Since then, Reading have finished 17th in League One amid years of mismanagement while the Clarets dropped back out of the Premier League after a sole season back in the top-flight.

A place in round four is at stake on Saturday, so ahead of the meeting, take a look below at four players to have donned both the blue and white hoops of Reading and claret and blue of Burnley.

Glen Little

Perhaps the most obvious connection between the two, Little is a club legend at both the SCL Stadium and Turf Moor.

After impressing in the League of Ireland with Glentoran, Burnley paid £100,000 for the winger in 1996 and the Londoner would remain in Lancashire for the next seven years and racked up over 250 appearances.

Spending a brief loan spell at Reading in 2003, Little returned to Berkshire on a permanent deal in 2004 and remained at the club until 2008, becoming a fan favourite during the rise into the Premier League.

Remaining in the Premier League with Portsmouth upon his exit, Steve Coppell brought Little back in 2009 to try and help win promotion back at the first attempt, but Burnley knocked the Royals out in the play-offs and eventually won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history.

Continuing to play at a high level until 2013, 'Blakey' now provides co-commentary for BBC local radio, covering both Reading and Burnley matches frequently.

Jeff Hendrick

32-year-old Republic of Ireland regular Hendrick made his name at Derby County, making over 200 appearances after breaking through the club's Academy.

Regularly impressing at the top end of the Championship, Burnley paid a then club-record £10.5m to sign the midfielder in 2016 and for the next four years, Hendrick was a regular at Turf Moor.

Newcastle United tempted him away in 2020 upon the end of his contract, but the move to St James' Park did not go to plan and he made just 27 appearances over three seasons.

Technically still under contract on Tyneside, Hendrick spent the 2022/23 season on loan with Reading and made 46 appearances as the club were relegated to League One.

Since then, he played 12 times for Sheffield Wednesday last season but has not kicked a ball competitively this campaign.

Matej Vydra

A Championship goalscoring regular during the early 2010s, the Czech Republic international had top-scoring seasons for Watford and Derby County in an impressive period between 2013 and 2018.

From winning PFA awards to being named Championship Player of the Year, his stock could not have been higher in the decade.

So expectations were through the roof when Reading announced the forward on a season-long loan for 2015/16, reportedly paying over £2m just for one season.

Well, a return of three league goals in 31 appearances did not live up to that expectation, although he did pick up the Golden Boot for the FA Cup that year as the Royals reached the quarter-final.

Fast-forward to 2018 and Burnley signed the striker on a three-year deal after an impressive 2017/18 season with Derby in which he scored 22 goals and won Player of the Season.

Over the next four years, the 32-year-old would score 12 times in 97 appearances, departing upon relegation to the Championship.

Playing for Viktoria Plzen in Czechia, he scored against Manchester United in the Europa League before Christmas.

Josh Laurent

The only player in the current Burnley team who could face a former team on Saturday is Laurent, who won Reading's Player of the Season in his debut campaign of 2020/21.

Staying for two seasons and racking up nearly 90 appearances, the 29-year-old joined Stoke City in 2022 and again, made nearly 90 appearances in two full seasons.

Moving to Turf Moor over the summer, Laurent has become a regular under Parker, being named in the squad for every Championship game to date and appearing in all but one.