League One leaders Plymouth Argyle will look to increase their cushion at the summit of the table on Saturday, when they travel to take on Burton Albion.
Following a draw away at Lincoln City last weekend, the Pilgrims lead second-placed Ipswich Town and third-placed Sheffield Wednesday by four and five points respectively, while Saturday's opponents sit 23rd with just 13 points to their name.
Match preview
© Reuters
Burton Albion have certainly experienced a tough start to the League One campaign, and manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink departed in September with the club sat at the foot of the division having picked up just a single point from their opening seven matches.
Dino Maamria then stepped up to lead the Brewers, and they enjoyed an initial improvement, collecting 11 points from his first eight league games at the helm, including three victories, to move within touching distance of climbing out of the bottom four.
Since their latest triumph over Cheltenham Town in October, the Brewers have been unable to add another notch to their wins column in the league in three attempts, though, firstly suffering defeats at the hands of Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday before bouncing back with a 2-0 beating of Needham Market in the FA Cup first round.
Maamria's side then returned to league action with a home contest against Charlton Athletic last weekend, and in an eventful clash, they came back from two goals down to lead 3-2 through Adedeji Oshilaja, Tom Hamer and Victor Adeboyejo, only for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi to draw their visitors back level in the 75th minute and force a share of the points.
While the Brewers cannot be too disheartened by that performance and result, they do still sit 23rd with just 13 points on the board, and they will be desperate to return to winning ways at the weekend but face a particularly tough test.
In their first full season under the management of Steven Schumacher, Plymouth Argyle have enjoyed an eye-catching start to the campaign, establishing themselves at the top of the division having already put 13 wins and 42 points on the board in 18 outings.
That has largely been down to their formidable record going forward, with no other side in League One matching their tally of 37 goals scored in that time, and they boasted a particularly healthy lead with 11 victories from the opening 14 third-tier matches.
Schumacher's side then had to settle for a 2-2 draw away at Bristol Rovers but quickly bounced back, firstly beating Shrewsbury Town 2-1 thanks to a Niall Ennis goal and Morgan Whittaker's 83rd-minute winner, before making it back-to-back triumphs with a 4-2 beating of Exeter City as Whittaker was again on the scoresheet with Ryan Hardie netting a brace and Bali Mumba also finding the net.
The Pilgrims would then drop out of the FA Cup first round following a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Grimsby Town, and in their bid to make it three wins on the bounce away at Lincoln City last weekend, they were only able to take a point, drawing 1-1 after Adam Randell's opener was cancelled out on the stroke of half time.
While second-placed Ipswich also dropped points last weekend, the draw did see third-placed Sheffield Wednesday move closer to the top two, and the Pilgrims will be keen to prevent their lead being cut any further and put a 14th league win of the season on the board on Saturday.
Team News
© Reuters
Burton Albion's line will again be led by Victor Adeboyejo, who has netted eight league goals and 10 in all competitions since his arrival from Barnsley in the summer.
Advanced midfielder Davis Keillor-Dunn sits second in their league scoring charts with five goals thus far, and he will be looking to break back into the starting XI after being an unused substitute last time out.
At the other end of the pitch, Adedeji Oshilaja is a mainstay in defence and should again partner Sam Hughes at the heart of a back four.
Steven Schumacher has rarely made many changes to his Plymouth side throughout the season, and we should again see a 3-4-3 setup with Ryan Hardie leading the line, having netted seven league goals thus far.
He will be flanked by Niall Ennis and Morgan Whittaker, who has also got on the scoresheet seven times in the second tier, while fellow goal threat Finn Azaz is sidelined with an injury.
Macauley Gillesphey is pushing for a start in defence, although the back three of James Wilson, Nigel Lonwijk and Brendan Galloway is unlikely to be altered.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Sinisalo; Hamer, Hughes, Oshilaja, Borthwick-Jackson; Gilligan, Taylor; Smith, Keillor-Dunn, Powell; Adeboyejo
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Lonwijk, Wilson, Galloway; Edwards, Randell, Houghton, Mumba; Ennis, Hardie, Whittaker
We say: Burton Albion 0-2 Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle will be desperate to return to winning ways on Saturday and ensure they maintain a lead at the top of the table, and they have shown far more quality than their hosts throughout the season thus far.
Against a Burton Albion team lacking any confidence, we see Schumacher's men cruising to a victory in Staffordshire.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
